51. Herland and The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
I decided to re-read The Handmaid’s Tale swiftly followed by The Testaments so before immersing myself in Atwood's feminist dystopia, I decided to read a book about a feminist utopia.
Three hapless 1915 era males stumble across a civilisation populated only by women hidden in the Amazon rain forest. Contrary to their expectations, it is a harmonious and productive place to live. Equality really does exist in Herland, and the inhabitants are thriving. As the Herlanders and the visiting men strike up relationships, they seek to understand each other with varying degrees of success; struggling with concepts such as marriage and parenthood and challenging the mens’ deeply held belief in male superiority.
The plot and characterisation were a little contrived in places and sometimes felt like a vehicle to deliver the novella’s message. First published in 1915, the language felt a little stiff and formal in places, particularly as I am used to reading more contemporary fiction. These weaknesses didn’t detract from my enjoyment overall, and it was a thought provoking read which I raced through in two days.
Including The Yellow Wallpaper in the same volume formed a nice counterpoint to the freedom of Herland. Set in Perkin Gilman’s own time, it tells the story of the slow mental disintegration of a woman confined to bed rest and forbidden to write for fear of exacerbating her nerves. The narrator is the complete opposite of the women of Herland, fragile and unstable, literally imprisoned by patriarchal society in the horrible yellow room. A classic.
52. The Handmaids Tale – Margaret Atwood
I’m sure everyone knows what this one’s about. A re-read, which is highly unusual for me. I appreciated this so much more now as an older reader. Re-reading this has actually opened me up to the possibility of re-reading some of my other old favourites, to see if they stand the test of time.
I thought this was beautifully written and loved the nameless handmaid’s narrative voice. The opening lines sent a shiver up my spine, they are so evocative and chilling; I immediately knew I was in for a great read.
I remembered this as being quite pacey and plot driven; on re-reading I discovered that it’s actually more thoughtful and focused on the details, spare almost. She describes her interactions with the commander and the workings of the household and the neighbourhood in great depth. I thought this worked well and really conveyed the claustrophobic nature of her life. Information about Gilead and the world in general is kept to a minimum, allowing the reader to fill these bits in themselves and imagine how awful they are. With my rampant imagination I had no problem doing this!
Without a doubt one of my favourite books of the year, in fact still one of my favourite books ever.
53. The Testaments – Margaret Atwood
This has a totally different feel and style to The Handmaids Tale. It’s very plot driven and lacked the subtle, literary feel of the first book. It’s difficult to give much info on the plot without spoilers, but there are three separate narrators, one of whom is Aunt Lydia. At first I was interested to hear about Aunt Lydia’s backstory, but then I wished I hadn’t because I felt it de-mystified her and made her somehow less horrifying. I know this has had fantastic reviews and am aware that I am probably a dissenting voice here, but I did not think this was in the same league as The Handmaid’s Tale and for me it did not bring anything to the party for me except a slightly disappointed feeling when I got to the end.