The Handmaid's Tale

     My sister asked me to blog about books I have  read.  So I am going to try to blog about a book once a week.  This week's book is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  I was hesitant to read this book after reading the summary.  I really enjoy reading dystopian novels but have found that the genre is usually limited to young adult books, which I do like most of the time.  However, I wanted to find out if anyone wrote adult dystopian books and began searching.  The book that was first on every search was The Handmaid's Tale.
      The reason I was hesitant was that the summary refers to this being a book about a society where the Christian 'far-right' group has taken over what used to be America and created a mono-theocratic with basically no freedom for women.  I hesitated but was drawn to the book again and again.  Finally, I found it at McKay's Used Books and decided for $2.00 if it wasn't worth reading, I hadn't lost too much.
     America is now the Republic of Gilead and has been taken over by an extreme right sect of 'Christians.'  I put the word Christian in quotes because, of course, this group is based on a lot of rule following and man-made perversions and interpretations and is a far cry from true Christianity.  Women have no rights and very few job possibilities.  Offred is a handmaid and lives a limited existence in which she is allowed to go to the store once daily, and is only allowed to talk to certain people.  All women dress in a manner that indicates their societal position.  Offred remembers a life before when she had a husband, a daughter, and a name she refuses to think about because it makes the reality of her existence more difficult.  She hopes to get pregnant because that is her job and if she doesn't she is no longer useful.  Very few women have viable ovaries because of some weapon used in the war (at least that's what I gathered).
      The book is written in the first person by Offred.  The style is matter-of-fact, which makes the way of life described more difficult to imagine, especially after getting far enough into the book to start figuring out what's going on.  I won't spoil the book for anyone who might want to read it by giving to much away.  I will say that if you enjoy reading 'light' books, you probably don't want to read this one.  However, I recommend it for those of you who enjoy a book that leaves you thinking days after you finish reading.