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sarakomo 's review for:
The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood
2020: This book is only getting rated so highly because of the exact moment in my life and in the world in which I read it.
Overall, this is a very different vibe from The Handmaid's Tale. I mean that both with some of the overlapping characters, as well as the literary style that Atwood used previously. If you're looking for the more abstract and thoughtful way in which Offred's world was presented, you won't find it here. For me, that was a welcome change and the straightforwardness of the plot made it much easier to follow by audiobook.
That being said, I read this book during the week in which Amy Coney Barrett, A JUDGE (looking at you, AL) was nominated to the highest court in the United States EVEN THOUGH she's very inexperienced and has very conservative views. There's rumors that the specific sect of Catholicism of which her and her family are a part was the inspiration for THT (Atwood has said this isn't the case, but there is a role in that sect for women called HANDMAIDS!!)
I also just finished reading The Education of an Idealist (big big fan, go add it to your TBR right now) and found several overlaps between the two books. It was pretty trippy to be reading about Power's work as part of the UN and her attempts to prevent genocides, while Aunt Lydia was narrating about how frustrating it was that international peace keeping missions kept "embarrassingly" calling her work in Gilead "genocide".
It was horrible listening to all of the warnings about global warming embedded in this narrative during a year in which half of the country is on fire and half of the country is being pummeled by hurricanes. It was also pretty crazy to go from this audiobook to an episode of "Unlocking Us" by Brené Brown interviewing Joe Biden and talking about the corruption of politicians who rule by "power over". *insert mind-blown emoji here*
One of the things I really hated about this novel was the Becca storyline, and her simply being a pawn for the overall plot. It's very disappointing to still have the narrative of women who have been raped as damaged goods who end up offing themselves because it's too much of a burden to bear. Read another way, this subplot could highlight the emotional damage of rape (even when physical damage is invisible / insubstantial) and how abuse victims need support of all kinds. But it was also pretty unnecessary and disturbing.
This sequel did not answer every question I had (I'm sorry, so how does one become an Econo-wife? Who are these people that are allowed to live on the border of Canada without ~really~ being a part of Gilead?) but it certainly ended in a much tighter spot that THT did. The Testaments is a really satisfying followup that answers a lot of the questions asked in The Handmaid's Tale, but in a completely different style for a modern audience.
Overall, this is a very different vibe from The Handmaid's Tale. I mean that both with some of the overlapping characters, as well as the literary style that Atwood used previously. If you're looking for the more abstract and thoughtful way in which Offred's world was presented, you won't find it here. For me, that was a welcome change and the straightforwardness of the plot made it much easier to follow by audiobook.
That being said, I read this book during the week in which Amy Coney Barrett, A JUDGE (looking at you, AL) was nominated to the highest court in the United States EVEN THOUGH she's very inexperienced and has very conservative views. There's rumors that the specific sect of Catholicism of which her and her family are a part was the inspiration for THT (Atwood has said this isn't the case, but there is a role in that sect for women called HANDMAIDS!!)
I also just finished reading The Education of an Idealist (big big fan, go add it to your TBR right now) and found several overlaps between the two books. It was pretty trippy to be reading about Power's work as part of the UN and her attempts to prevent genocides, while Aunt Lydia was narrating about how frustrating it was that international peace keeping missions kept "embarrassingly" calling her work in Gilead "genocide".
It was horrible listening to all of the warnings about global warming embedded in this narrative during a year in which half of the country is on fire and half of the country is being pummeled by hurricanes. It was also pretty crazy to go from this audiobook to an episode of "Unlocking Us" by Brené Brown interviewing Joe Biden and talking about the corruption of politicians who rule by "power over". *insert mind-blown emoji here*
One of the things I really hated about this novel was the Becca storyline, and her simply being a pawn for the overall plot. It's very disappointing to still have the narrative of women who have been raped as damaged goods who end up offing themselves because it's too much of a burden to bear. Read another way, this subplot could highlight the emotional damage of rape (even when physical damage is invisible / insubstantial) and how abuse victims need support of all kinds. But it was also pretty unnecessary and disturbing.
This sequel did not answer every question I had (I'm sorry, so how does one become an Econo-wife? Who are these people that are allowed to live on the border of Canada without ~really~ being a part of Gilead?) but it certainly ended in a much tighter spot that THT did. The Testaments is a really satisfying followup that answers a lot of the questions asked in The Handmaid's Tale, but in a completely different style for a modern audience.