The Handmaid's Tale

First of all, it is not the Handmaiden's Tale. Handmaid, it is. Many will be familiar with either the film or the television series. But Margaret Atwood is just too good of a writer to not get the full force of the story in the original.

From the Bibliophile's Devotional for June 10th:

"In this rich story of a dystopian future, the Republic of Gilead is an oppressive, underpopulated, Christian theocracy ruled by men. Right-wing fundamentalist set up the repressive state in the 1980s (the novel was published in 1986) after murdering the U.S. president and members of Congress. It is a bleak place. Women have been disenfranchised and are prevented from working or having money or learning to read. Homosexuals, jews, old women, and nonwhites have been sent to the Colonies to clean up toxic waste.

This cautionary tale is celebrated for its gorgeous prose and controversial for its forthright feminism. Atwood reminds the reader that all of the horrifying ways in which women are oppressed in this novel have been played out in history."