Thanks to my bookclub, I am definitely branching out in my reading genres! Originally written in 1986, this book has become a Hulu movie and now has been re-published with a 2017 intro by the author--which does help in understanding some of the plot.
The main character is documenting her life somewhere in the future, after the United States has collapsed into a variety of geographical sections (similar to The Hunger Games). Because of pollution and toxin issues, the population is having difficulty pro-creating. Those who have moved into leadership have devised a plan to assign the residents to specific roles, whereby "handmaids" (basicly mistresses) have the important task of having babies ---babies they will give up to the Commanders and their wives.
This is a chilling and dark futuristic tale. It attempts to show how power and evil come together, using half-truths of Biblical ideas, to twist people's minds. As always, there is an underground revolt which is fighting against this government. I love that the author includes the Quakers, the peace lovers, as the quiet revolutionaries.
Offred writes with desperation, having been torn from her husband and child, and now in the clutches of the government leaders. After following passively, she begins to quietly revolt (to either find herself again or to sub-consciously get caught), before being captured. Again, an unsettling ending--to an unsettling story.
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