The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Amy Landecker, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, Elisabeth Moss

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Audiobook (Fiction) at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020.

Read by Elisabeth Moss, star of the hit Channel 4 TV series.

Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction

©2011 O W Toad Ltd (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it." (Guardian)

"A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist." (Bernardine Evaristo, author of Girl, Woman, Other)

"This beautifully produced audiobook version of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale will whet appetites for its long-awaited sequel, The Testaments, released in September.... The several narrators match the powerful heft of Atwood’s elegant, economical prose." (The Times)

An Interesting Dystopia

Started very good, but I lost my focus on the last quarter and this gradually lowered my interest in following with the next book. However, I will definitely watch the show after this.

E. Moss is such a great actress and I have loads of respect for her. I really enjoyed listening to her and it was “alright” as the book is in mostly diary form. I think it would have been a better experience if there were a bit more distinct character sounds. To me, that is what I like in audiobooks, to experience the sounds of character.

Overall good story, well-read, and I have finished relatively quickly. Would recommend if the book description makes you excited

Really good, especially if you like the show

absolutely loved it, the narration was great, and the story fantastic
would definitely recommend <3

Not far from reality

How do you even begin to review a piece like this, it starts slow, shy, like meeting an acquaintance— she knows this whole thing is ridiculous, yet she feels guilty for her actions?
The whole thing is built on polygamy! Amazing.
One would think everything here is fiction, but is it? The men act exactly as they do today, some women more or less suffer in the same way — although not in such an “organized “ fashion… but there it is.
The narrator makes a great addition to the story, at first i thought her voice was void of life, then i understood why. She isn’t supposed to be cheerful. Excellent, excellent writing.

A very well written story

After having watched the series, I wanted to listen to the book to see how different they were. I was not disappointed, such a compelling novel, I listened every spare moment that I got, longing for long car rides to be able to listen for extended periods of time.

Engancha

Estupendo. La voz te mete a fondo en la historia, que es impresionante. Te hace incluso pensar en sociedades donde hay grupos no tan lejos de como viven en esta distopia

Love!

Very intriguing story. Had me on the tip of my seat. Can't wait to listen the next one.

Addictive

I could listen to this all day long and, to be quite honest, I have.

Fascinating story and narration!

I absolutely loved this production! The story is engaging and Margaret Atwood's writing is impeccable.

There are many memorable moments in this story, but mostly it was just fascinating to actually picture the scenes and characters. The ceremonies were mind-blowing. If you want to listen to a meaningful story that is somewhat of a reality check at times for where we're heading to as a civilization, this audiobook is worth your time.

I loved the narrator. She really tells the story, she's not simply reading the words. She made me believe that all of it really did happen to her. Volume, pace, diction, tone... everything was just on the spot.

the best version of the audiobook

Elisabeth Moss' performance really brings the story to life. A definite must listen for both fans of the book and the series.

Recommended before or after season 1 of series.

While clearly there is some overlap and some of the drama is in a somewhat different order to the TV series. I think its a compelling listen before or after season 1 of the TV series.

The primary story line of the book is solely narrated by Elisabeth Moss, with the other narrators only appearing at the end outside of the main story line. I found Elisabeth Moss extraordinary. I must say at the start of the book I was a little unsure about her, I think it was the case that she did not do her best work at the beginning and normal expectations one normally has about the clearer diction typical of most professional narrators. As my expectations washed away I found myself truly amazed by the performance the way the emotion of the character was conveyed was amazing.

I found the book was able to fill in various gaps in the TV series and carried far more impact on me than season 1 of the TV series, not to say I did not find the TV series fantastic as well.