|Literary Speculation| - Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaid's Tale" - Book Review
It
was time for me to read this book for once and for all. I refuse to start
watching the show without first reading the book.
I’ve
heard so much about this story before it was even adapted into the small
screen, and how apparently the ending was slightly upsetting.
So, I
finally chose to read this book by Atwood’s rather than Onyx and Crake and DAMN were they right when they said the ending
left you upset!
Oh,
the ambiguity. Sometimes I love it but sometimes I hate it. This time’s the
latter.
What
a sick, sad future the Republic of Gilead is.
I enjoyed
the book for what it is, but one can’t deny how miserable life is and how it’s
hard for anyone to maintain positivity when even Offred can’t even remember her
real name and how her life could’ve been before she was a handmaid.
Even
so, there’s still a spark of hope in Offred. And most of all, humanity. When
she’s forced to be the handmaid of “The Commander”, she tries to feel empathy
for his wife, Serena. She knows nobody is enjoying what must be done to keep up
the population. There’s still a sense of compassion and relation towards women
no matter if they’re divided by the color of their clothes and their position
in this messed up dictatorship.
I am
in no way saying the ending is bad, because it’s definitely not. As a hopeful
optimist, I want to know that Offred is fine. That she was not on her way to
her deathbed. I want to know that she was able to escape with the help of the
Mayday resistance and that she was able to return to her daughter and her
husband. That her friend Ofglen actually didn’t commit suicide and she got to
escape, too. But my heart and my hopes were stopped by the possibility that
maybe what I just read is all I am going to get, just as the people that found
the mysterious tapes that led to the Handmaid’s Tale.
The air
and the vibes that are given off of the book are as toxic and somber as the
polluted air of Gilead. To know that in this fictional dystopia women are not
even allowed to read makes me realize of the sad reality of our present. That
even in some countries right now there’s virtues I have been taking for
granted. How this story could be truer than I would like to believe.
The
desire for the future is barely there. Even in the lowest of points and at the worst-case
scenarios, but Offred finds hope in the future, a future where she will no
longer suffer and women will be able to choose their partners. They will be
able to read magazines, wear lipstick of whatever color, wear whatever lingerie
they want, and choosing if to ever have a child or not. Never serving annoying
but themselves.
Even
if I don’t know what was of the faith of Offred, readers like me know she
remained optimistic until the end.
And
with that I shall be satisfied.
Thankfully,
I’ve heard the TV-series adaptation of this book does have a clearer ending.
With that, I have nothing but excitement to finally get a Hulu account to watch
the series.
FINALLY.
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