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Original poster

reading a handmaids tale

54 replies

southeastastra · 12/12/2010 20:40

blimey wtf is this about? it's crackers

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BelligerentYhoULE · 20/12/2010 15:53

Thanks Mizu. I went to the library this morning but they'd only got Alias Grace, which I've read and The Blind Assassin which I have tried and failed with three times; no copies of Cat's Eye.

mizu · 20/12/2010 15:46

Love The Handmaid's Tale, just lent it to my sis who can't get into it!!!!

Did Cat's Eye at uni, can't quite remember what it is about, bullying i think?

Original poster
southeastastra · 16/12/2010 08:55

agree kikidee i'm definitely looking at dp in a different light Shock

nearly finished now, will be sad when it ends. thoroughly gripping but depressing at the same time. and could really happen which is very scary in this climate

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kikidee · 15/12/2010 23:24

Our book group read it recently and it generated a very good discussion. I don't remember reading a book that has ever made me think so much, specifically about female roles and male views of women. I found it chilling and all too achievable - the simple fact of removing women's access to their money was the starting point. I thought it was fantastic.

deaconblue · 15/12/2010 07:44

aha, it was teenage boys I last taught it to at a super boys grammar school. Was very interesting but then I had spent the previous year drumming all sorts of feminist ideas into their heads!

Takver · 14/12/2010 20:54

shoppingbags, it would be interesting discussing it with teenage boys, I imagine?

I would say that probably nearly all the women I know have read it, but I suspect very few of the men.

sfxmum · 14/12/2010 18:22

Atwood is a great writer, this book is essential reading
enough said

deaconblue · 14/12/2010 18:19

is a master piece imo. Have taught it for A level several times - so much to discuss

PinkElephantsOnParade · 14/12/2010 09:46

I also loved "Never Let Me Go"

The saddest book I have ever read.

I wept buckets, not something I usually do over a book.

And like Handmaids Tale, it resonates with a "this could really happen" tone.

walkinginaWUKTERwonderland · 13/12/2010 22:11

I loved 'Never Let Me Go'. They were so placid and accepting.

BelligerentGhoul · 13/12/2010 22:09

I absolutely hated Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go' though.

Haven't read 'Cat's Eye' - what's that about?

walkinginaWUKTERwonderland · 13/12/2010 22:09

There's an excellent passage in it, when the changes are just happening. I'm only quoting from memory here:
'I thought, already he's starting to patronise me. Then I thought, already I'm starting to get paranoid'.

BelligerentGhoul · 13/12/2010 22:07

I think it's far and away her best: excellent.

Dd1 read it last year, at 14, and loved it too.

ShrinkingViolet · 13/12/2010 22:04

I read this on my honeymoon, not the most appropriate occasion Wink.

RhinestoneCowgirl · 13/12/2010 22:03

Margaret Atwood is one of my favourite authors. Handmaids Tale was the first book of hers I read, at about 18. I love her writing.

AnyFuckerForAMincePie · 13/12/2010 21:59

that book is brilliant

a defining moment in fiction, I think and I don't say that lightly

Margaret Atwood is a genius

Icoulddoitbetter · 13/12/2010 21:56

I loced this book, must read it again as it's still sitting on my shelf. Also read Brave New World and 1984 around the same time.

I'm terrible at remembering the plots of books (and films), I just remember if I enjoyed them or not. But IIRC "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro is on a similar theme and also very enjoyable/

Takver · 13/12/2010 21:49

Agree its an amazing book. A long time since I've seen it, but IIRC I found the film also incredibly powerful (which is unusual for me, I'm much more a book person).

Interestingly for me Oryx & Crake didn't work anywhere near so well, it didn't have the same ring of truth/ possibility.

DreamTeamGirl · 13/12/2010 21:31

I am not a huge Atwood fan, but The Handmaiden's Tale is mind blowing
Will have to look up Cats Eye

alemci · 13/12/2010 21:27

yes you are right, i just googled it. i read it years ago and it was excellent.

walkinginaWUKTERwonderland · 13/12/2010 19:42

I think Housekeeping is by Marilyn Robinson.

PinkElephantsOnParade · 13/12/2010 19:22

Read this for the first time age 12 then again at 18.

Even at 12 I found it a compulsive read, didn't get it all at that age but enough to get the gist.

Utterly brilliant.

The film was pretty rubbish IMO. Just didn't catch the scary claustrophobia and paranoia of the book.

Hollywood just didn't get it.

nymphadora · 13/12/2010 19:15

I studied this for a level. Alongside 1984 & the colour purple. Made a massive impact on me.

twopeople · 13/12/2010 18:59

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twopeople · 13/12/2010 18:48

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