The Handmaid's Tale

This is the second novel from Margaret Atwood that I've read and she is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The Blind Assassin was a great book I read earlier this year and I finally got around to following it up with The Handmaid's Tale. And while this novel lacks the plot complexity of the former, the writing is still first class and the story engrossing.

Set in the relatively near future, The Handmaid's Tale is a first person account of the dystopian society the United States has become after the assassination of the President and Congress by a fundamentalist religious group. Subtext informs the reader that fertility has become a major issue and so society has become very strictly ordered, with women not only being stripped of all rights, but becoming subjugates to the will of the ruling order of men. One strata of this new class system is the 'handmaid', women who are still fertile and are given as concubines to influential men ('commanders'). The wives of these commanders naturally resent the handmaids, but are a full part of the ceremony that takes place with the goal of procreation. Our narrator, Offred, slowly unfolds not only the lot she has been reduced to, but also gives a general history of how things came to be this way. A postscript sheds further light, but many Offred's ultimate fate remains somewhat of a mystery.

The novel raises a number of questions that could provide the grist for many meaningful conversations. One could argue that this is a feminist novel while another might argue that Atwood was trying to show a possible extreme reaction to feminism. I have no doubt that this book is a staple in Women's Studies and Women's Literature courses all over the world. I enjoyed this novel very much for its suspense, original plot, and for the way it made me think.

Another issue this book raised with me is the question of what constitutes science fiction. I noted in an earlier post that Atwood does not think of her novels as science fiction, and I think I understand that position with this book. While it is set in the future, does that automatically make a book fall within the 'science fiction' genre?

This novel was made into a film in the mid 90s starring the late Natasha Richardson.

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood was another author I'd heard a lot about but I hadn't gotten around to reading one of her books until I picked up The Blind Assassin. Apparently, Atwood has been labeled as a science fiction writer, a label she bristles at. I remember one of her books, The Handmaid's Tale, was made into a well-received movie a few years ago.

The Blind Assassin is a story within a story within a story. If that puts you off, don't let it. Although there are parts of this story that unwrap mysteriously, it is the author's intent and not just a confusing structure to the novel. It contains elements of mystery, tragedy, drama, and, yes, science fiction.

The novel (which won the Booker Prize 8 or 9 years ago) centers around Iris Chase Griffin, a Canadian woman whose family were once preeminent manufacturers of gloves and other garments until the depression and hard times caused a slow slide from wealth. Iris and her sister Laura are left to be raised by their father and servants after their mother's untimely death. As the narrative of the sisters' lives unfolds, we are introduced to a story within the story, a tale of two lovers meeting in clandestine locations, the man in the relationship improvising a science fiction story that has kept the woman enthralled for months.

Iris' sister Laura dies in a car accident and shortly afterward, her husband is found dead in a sail boat. Are the two incidents related? And who are the lovers in the story 'The Blind Assassin' (revealed to be a posthumous work of Laura's)?

Atwood is a brilliant writer. The plot was well-planned out and engrossing. She is able to skillfully weave the narratives from the 1930s and 40s into the present day as well as including the cut-aways to the story within the story. A tale of identity, secrets, trust, and family, I had a hard time putting this down. This novel was deeply satisfying, deserving of its accolades, and an excellent way to while away a couple of afternoons.