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)

Oh the future is nigh...

I was 15 years old when this book came out in the mid-80's and at that time there was a scourge of teen-pregnancies. I was not one of them thankfully. I was also living in the Bible-belt state of Virginia at that time which then and is now a Republican red state. I read this book when it came out as I was a fan of SF and Fantasy and was so distraught as I read it because of the dystopian/totalitarian/dictatorial possibilities within the pages of this phenomenal and important book. So my reality of that time was an all-time high of reported teen-pregnancies and living in a conservative state against my reading of The Handmaiden's Tale, Anthem by A. Rand, Brave New World by A. Huxley was such a mind-blowing juxtaposition that it made my outlook on my life at that time such that I became and still am a 'quiet feminist'. And now fast-forward to our current situation, our seas, skies, soil and people are super polluted due to too much chemical exposure that is so so true of the infertility of many women and men of our population. I am scared for our future generations and for our Mother Earth. And Father Sky. And I leave you now with a saying that haunts my heart 'Wicked are the ways of men who have no conscience or foresight for the future'. This book is not a novel to me it was a textbook that taught me well.

The Has The

I listen. to this book. twi e and came to the same conclusion, this is about as close to Socialism as I want to get. This is rubbish!

Tender and traumatizing.

 It’s such a good story, I loved it. It’s bleak and painful to read, at times, but the main character, Offred, tells her story so beautifully and intentionally, that it demands attention.

There is so much life in her, but everything worth living for has been stripped away. She once had a family. She once had things that we take for granted. Now she has nothing. Offred has lost her right to self-expression, but she has so much to express!

I think that’s what made my chest tighten with grief – those moments of forced silence and conformity. She has eloquent thoughts to share, but only permits herself to a scripted answer or a moment of eye contact. The only way she can speak to her best friend Is by hiding for 30 seconds in a bathroom. Don’t think or speak, don’t read or touch, don’t even look at another person. Just spread your legs when you’re told.

Offred’s story is heavy, but it’s so good. There are moments where all she can do is appreciate the little things (a memory, a dried flower, a pat of butter), and those moments are so poetic.

I was moved by her fighting spirit and her ability to beautifully reflect on the little things that keep her sane.

“Sanity is my most valuable possession. I save it so that I’ll have enough when the time comes.”

Worth reading & can’t stop thinking about it.

Great book. Bad ending.

Great book. Bad ending. The narrator does a fantastic job. I just wish it had ended better.

First time hearing the story. Loved it

This was a really cool story. I wasn't sure what I was getting into with the book, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

Bookclub choice, but glad I listened.

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

It was the book chosen by our bookclub, and while most of us said at the meeting that we likely wouldn't have chosen it on our own, we were glad because it turned out to be a fascinating read/listen.

Which scene was your favorite?

The bedroom scene with wife, maiden and husband were so creepy, (and my husband found the movie version which I also watched during my read of this book and that even more so...) IMPRINTED IN MY BRAIN and can't get it out! Yuck!

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

When we read about historical fictional (or non-fiction), we usually see that people regret bad choices and events and often is about lessons learned to not go backwards in ways of thinking and living. But in this scenario, the society did go backwards on women's rights in such a severe and terrible way.

Eerily appropriate novel during this time!

Claire Danes is an amazing reader of this cautionary tale. A must read. Margaret Atwood has blown me away again.

Excellent writer, but stories too dark for me

Any additional comments?

This author is an excellent writer and I get sucked into her books, but because her stories are speculative fiction with dark undertones they leave me feeling disturbed.

life changing

this book was so moving for me as a feminist. I loved it. incredible experience.

very well done!

very nicely done, kept me guessing as what was coming up and the ultimate end of the story!!!