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The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Claire Danes
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Fiction, 2013

Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale explores a broad range of issues relating to power, gender, and religious politics. Multiple Golden Globe award-winner Claire Danes (Romeo and Juliet, The Hours) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, one of the most powerful and widely read novels of our time.

After a staged terrorist attack kills the President and most of Congress, the government is deposed and taken over by the oppressive and all-controlling Republic of Gilead. Offred, now a Handmaid serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules in hopes of ending this oppression.

Cover Art by Fred Marcellino. Used with permission of Pippin Properties, Inc.

Explore more titles performed by some of the most celebrated actors in the business in Audible’s Star-Powered Listens collection.
©1985 Margaret Atwood (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Claire Danes sparkles in this performance…Danes’s Offred is complex, and her flashes of intense strength highlight her vulnerability. This is a consuming listen, thanks to Danes’s emotional subtleties.” (AudioFile)

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What listeners say about The Handmaid's Tale

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27,574
  • 4 Stars
    10,243
  • 3 Stars
    4,071
  • 2 Stars
    1,235
  • 1 Stars
    995
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    29,455
  • 4 Stars
    6,797
  • 3 Stars
    2,143
  • 2 Stars
    571
  • 1 Stars
    471
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24,115
  • 4 Stars
    8,949
  • 3 Stars
    3,843
  • 2 Stars
    1,386
  • 1 Stars
    1,121

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

excellent story

excellent story, I wish the author would have expanded more and made the story longer. definitely too short. as the I was starting to get a bigger picture of the world the main character lives in the author cuts the story, IMO, abruptly.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Crazy read!

It took me forever to get into this book. The narration is too long at times and way too descriptive which makes you lose interest in the book. However, the second half of the book is fantastic. And the end? Brilliant!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Claire Danes does great

Claire Danes just does a fantastic job with this - brings the character and story to life. Only wish there was more to it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Danes brings the handmaid to life

If you could sum up The Handmaid's Tale in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, exciting, political

What other book might you compare The Handmaid's Tale to and why?

Orwell's 1984 and other dystopian works - with a feminist twist. Also, the language is beautiful and the metaphors unexpected. I started to see my own place in the world with different eyes after having listened to The Handmaid's Tale.

What about Claire Danes’s performance did you like?

Danes really got under my skin. Her diction and tone brought me very close to Atwood's protagonist.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but it gave me goosebumps, both because of the actual story and because of what it implies about the society in which we live today.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Claire Daines shines in this reading

I have read this before I listened to it on Audible. I do have to say that I enjoyed the listening more, especially at the end when they have the fast forward into the future. The last chapter was the hardest for me to read and listening to it made comprehension easier.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Book

You have to wonder if this could really happen. Sadly- probably. Danes is an amazing reader. Loved her. The only reason I gave the book four instead of five stars was the ending. I felt a little cheated. I would still highly recommend this book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Better in Print?

What was most disappointing about Margaret Atwood’s story?

I have heard great things about this book. I bet it is probably better in print. It was difficult to follow the transitions within the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

BRUTAL, frightening and altogether an incredible read!

Clair Danes NAILED this story, in a way that pulled me in, held me tight & didn't let go until the last word was spoken. Well done, Audible, well done!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed it very much!!!

I really enjoyed the deep insights of the main character. I was a bit disappointed by the way it ended, bit liked it very much. Claire Danes is a pleasure to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really made me think.

I fully enjoyed the book and the narrator. This is a genre that I don't usually listen too but this book was excellent.

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