Little by little, over the past few years, I've seen real life imitating art. After the Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, I decided that it was time to read The Handmaid's Tale. Now I wonder how Margaret Atwood was so prescient. The Handmaid's Tale read like non-fiction in July 2022. That is horrifying!
Life is as we (used to) know it at the start of The Handmaid's Tale. Offred has an actual name. She's got a job she enjoys, a husband, a daughter, friends. Life is pretty good. The religious right somehow comes into power. And suddenly women can no longer hold jobs, can no longer control their assets. Families are torn apart. Women with viable ovaries can become handmaids. They will give birth to the children that the infertile wives of the leaders cannot have.
We were staying in our Airbnb in New York when I read The Handmaid's Tale. We had Hulu on our Airbnb tv, something we don't have at home. After turning the last page of the book, I turned on the series. We were in a tiny Airbnb so whatever I watched, my husband couldn't help but watching. After the 3rd episode of season 1, he said he couldn't watch anymore. It was just that disturbing.
I'm not going to get all political in this review so I'm pretty much going to leave it here and not say anymore. Other than to suggest that everyone read this book. We are well on the way to life as told in The Handmaid's Tale. Think about that when you go to vote in November.
I have read The Handmaid's Tale ages ago, long before they made it into a series (which I never watched). You are right, it is disturbing. And it should be disturbing. When we look at the present situation, we might not be far off a situation like that. Just as you, I think everyone should read this.
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