The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Claire Danes

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

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.

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©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)

Clares Danes Makes this Even Better

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The story is frighteningly current. The narration is awesome.

What did you like best about this story?

The dystopia felt realistic and made it read like a horror novel. Compelling.

an immersive story

I enjoyed Claire Danes' performance of this engrossing, bleak story. She and Ms. Atwood made me feel and visualize everything that happened.

Wow

Just wow.
This is the first time I'd read this book, having not ever read it in print. Danes was hauntingly beautiful.

I'm blown away.

An Excellent (and terrifying) Tale

Although penned in the 80s, Margaret Atwood’s novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is eerily prescient. Those reading (listening) for further insight into the Hulu series will not find the answers they are searching for as the series is much more detailed and varied from the novel quite a bit. Still, this work is a classic and should be required reading for all young women today.

Well narrated story of repression

The Handmaid Tale is an intriguing provocative look at a potential futuristic society where sterility is the norm and an entire hierarchy is created to keep the residents in their respective roles by force. I looked forward to hearing Claire Danes’ dulcet voice each time as she brought it to life quite convincingly.

Wow.

It's a new favorite and I'm going to read it again immediately. Wow wow wow.

Loved it even more than the first time

Since I first read it years ago, when people asked about my favorite books, A Handmaid's Tale was always at the top of my list. It was my first dystopian novel and that genre quickly became my favorite. But I hadn't ever reread it. I think I was afraid that it wouldn't stand up against all the dystopian novels I've read since, that it only made an impression because it was the first. But I bought the audiobook when it was released read by Claire Danes. And waited. And waited. And finally decided to listen to it, revisit my old favorite. And it still stands up. Way, way up. In fact, I think I love it more now than I did before -- Claire Danes was excellent, but also the audio version gets around the odd punctuation and stream of consciousness style that could be distracting in the book.

It's still an amazing story, still so frightening because it's so plausible. Still filled with clever, beautiful prose. I didn't want it to end, again.

brilliant and terrifyingly relevant

highly recommended! was hard to put it down, Margaret Atwood is amazing and so poetic

Scary but entertaining

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A friend recommended this and I can see why. However, it did give me nightmares. Very entertaining and well written.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Handmaid's Tale?

After reading a chapter and going to sleep, I had a nightmare that I was drugged in a house and needed a lawyer to get me out.

What about Claire Danes’s performance did you like?

Excellent reading.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Pretty dark tale but well written.

Claire Danes brings this story to life!

I have been a fan of this tale for many years. I was excited when the Claire Danes narration became available. I was not disappointed.

Margaret Atwood has managed to tell a futuristic tale in such a way that it almost remains timeless. The technology mentioned in the book is just detailed enough as to its sophistication but not detailed enough to lend itself to dating the story.

To imagine a world where women essentially become brood stock is unthinkable but yet, is it? Changes don't happen overnight. Ideas creep into our society and our world views slowly adapt until we normalize the outrageous.

This story really makes you think.