Margaret Atwood The Handmaid's Tale 1996 Vintage 1996

Synopsis

<p><b>** THE <i>SUNDAY TIMES</i> NO. 1 BESTSELLER **</b><br> <b>**A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ**</b><br> <b><br> Discover the cultural phenomenon behind the award-winning TV series that feels all the more powerful and prescient in a post-Roe vs. Wade world.</b><br> <b><br> 'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' <i>Guardian</i></b> <p> <i>I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.</i> <p> Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford - her assigned name, Offred, means 'of Fred'. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire. As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs. <p> Masterfully conceived and executed, this haunting vision of the future places Margaret Atwood at the forefront of dystopian fiction.<br> <b><br> 'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist', Bernardine Evaristo, author of <i>Girl, Woman, Other.</i></b></p>