The Handmaid's Tale

In the world of the near future, who will control women’s bodies?

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are only valued if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the days before, when she lived and made love with her husband Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…. Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid’s Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.

“The Handmaid’s Tale is in the honorable tradition of Brave New World and other warnings of dystopia. It’s imaginative even audacious, and conveys a chilling sense of fear and menace.”-_The Globe and Mail_

“The Handmaid’s Tale brings out the very best in Atwood—moral vision, biting humor, and a poet’s imagination.”-_Chatelaine_ “A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex . . . Just as the world of Orwell’s 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood’s handmaid!”—Washington Post Book World “The Handmaid’s Tale deserves the highest praise”—San Francisco Chronicle “Atwood takes many trends which exist today and stretches them to their logical and chilling conclusions . . . An excellent novel about the directions our lives are taking . . . Read it while it’s still allowed.”—Houston Chronicle “Splendid.”—Newsweek Accolades Winner of Arthur C.Clarke Award 1987. Author Biography Margaret Atwood is Canada’s most eminent novelist, poet and critic. Her books include The Edible Woman, Surfacing, Lady Oracle, Alias Grace, Cat’s Eye, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize and The Handmaid’s Tale, which won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction and the Governor-General’s Award, was short-listed for the Booker Prize and made into a major film. She lives in Toronto with the writer Graeme Gibson and their daughter.

Author Biography

Margaret Atwood is Canada’s most eminent novelist, poet and critic. Her books include The Edible Woman, Surfacing, Lady Oracle, Life Before Man, Bodily Harm, The Handmaid’s Tale (winner of both the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction and the Governor-General’s Award, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made in a major film). Cat’s Eye (also shortlisted for the Booker Prize) The Robber Bride and Alias Grace. Finally, The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize in 2000.