Margaret Atwood's gift is to write entirely plausible nightmares that resonate to her readers' bones. Problem is, the nightmares she drags us into are so plausible that they do seem to be coming true.
The nightmare we inhabit in Oryx and Crake is an ecological one. Intense, violent, horribly sad. Just what we expect from the best of Margaret Atwood.
The nightmare we inhabit in The Handmaid's Tale is of a society gone terribly wrong.
My daughter read this book for school. Following is her review:
Note: Definitely an adult book. The main character's job in this society is to buy food and to try to make a baby every month...
This is a very creepy, but COOL book set in an imaginary future world where women are very oppressed. Although the plot moved rather slowly, it was still fascinating to soak in all the details about the world (politics, schemes, escapees, information networks).
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