Charleston County Public Library

The handmaid's tale, Margaret Atwood, with an introduction by Valerie Martin

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. xix)

no index present

fiction

The handmaid's tale

bibliography

64592213

Margaret Atwood, with an introduction by Valerie Martin

Everyman's library Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 301

In this multi-award-winning, bestselling novel, Margaret Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its world, with bizarre consequences for the women and men of its population. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate "Handmaids" under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships, Offred's persistent memories of life in the "time before" and her will to survive are acts of rebellion. Provocative, startling, prophetic, and with Margaret Atwood's devastating irony, wit, and acute perceptive powers in full force, The Handmaid's Tale is at once a mordant satire and a dire warning

adult