I watched the Hulu series of The Handmaid’s Tale before I read the book, so I was already familiar with the story. I was curious to know the differences and read it for myself. While both the series and the novel are rather different, they are excellent in their own ways. Reading the novel was a more intimate view of our narrator Offred.
The novel is heavy on description and light on plot. It is like a stream of consciousness narration of Offred’s thoughts. Most of the novel is describing her surroundings, her daily life, the structures of the society, and her back story. The novel is beautifully written, so while you might think a story like this could drag, it doesn’t. Offred’s thoughts are very rich, reflecting a woman attempting to make sense of and cope with her current world, and fantasizing about the smallest matters. When you are in a situation resembling solitary confinement, what else is there to do? There is also much pain in her words. While she has come to accept her reality, it is clear that this has and continues to wound her.
Although the regime in the novel is fundamentalist Christian, I don’t find it to be anti-Christian; it is anti-fundamentalism. Acknowledgment is made both in the book and in the series, that this type of oppression and fundamentalism is not inherent to Christianity. The form of Christianity present here is so twisted and so extreme that it’s not even that devout or religious, but used mainly as a justification for what the regime does. They wanted to make a society that is purer, more traditional, and justify the use of handmaids, so they turn to religion.
My critique of the book is that the explanation of the fertility crisis is rather unrealistic. I’m sure the idea for the story began with the author wondering, “what if a society forced women to be child bearers?” and explained it later, but the explanation doesn’t sound plausible to me. Also, because the entire book comes from Offred’s perspective, I’ve been left wondering what life is like under the regime for everyone else: the average children, women, and adults. It is fascinating to learn from Offred, but I’d like to see how it affects other people too.
Altogether, I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale and if you watched the series, I recommend picking up the book to experience the powerful monologues of Offred. Like most dystopian novels, this book is controversial, but if you’re a fan of the genre, I recommend it.
The Handmaid’s Tale
I watched the Hulu series of The Handmaid’s Tale before I read the book, so I was already familiar with the story. I was curious to know the differences and read it for myself. While both the series and the novel are rather different, they are excellent in their own ways. Reading the novel was a more intimate view of our narrator Offred.
The novel is heavy on description and light on plot. It is like a stream of consciousness narration of Offred’s thoughts. Most of the novel is describing her surroundings, her daily life, the structures of the society, and her back story. The novel is beautifully written, so while you might think a story like this could drag, it doesn’t. Offred’s thoughts are very rich, reflecting a woman attempting to make sense of and cope with her current world, and fantasizing about the smallest matters. When you are in a situation resembling solitary confinement, what else is there to do? There is also much pain in her words. While she has come to accept her reality, it is clear that this has and continues to wound her.
Although the regime in the novel is fundamentalist Christian, I don’t find it to be anti-Christian; it is anti-fundamentalism. Acknowledgment is made both in the book and in the series, that this type of oppression and fundamentalism is not inherent to Christianity. The form of Christianity present here is so twisted and so extreme that it’s not even that devout or religious, but used mainly as a justification for what the regime does. They wanted to make a society that is purer, more traditional, and justify the use of handmaids, so they turn to religion.
My critique of the book is that the explanation of the fertility crisis is rather unrealistic. I’m sure the idea for the story began with the author wondering, “what if a society forced women to be child bearers?” and explained it later, but the explanation doesn’t sound plausible to me. Also, because the entire book comes from Offred’s perspective, I’ve been left wondering what life is like under the regime for everyone else: the average children, women, and adults. It is fascinating to learn from Offred, but I’d like to see how it affects other people too.
Altogether, I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale and if you watched the series, I recommend picking up the book to experience the powerful monologues of Offred. Like most dystopian novels, this book is controversial, but if you’re a fan of the genre, I recommend it.