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Book Review of The Handmaid's Tale (Handmaid's Tale, Bk 1)

The Handmaid's Tale (Handmaid's Tale, Bk 1)
midwinter avatar reviewed on + 75 more book reviews


I recently finished another Atwood book, Oryx & Crake, and mentioned in my notes that it was like a social critique blown all out of proportion to the point where it was so out of touch with reality that the satire was lost in the exaggeration. Handmaid's Tale is the exact same kind of social critique, but done *exactly* right. It's just the right tone to chill you, make you smile wryly, raise your ire, and make you think long and hard about how closely the book skirts the line between fact and fiction.
Given the current state of world affairs, this book was doubly frightening.