NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE • A modern masterpiece that “reminds us of the power of truth in the face of evil” (People)—and can be read on its own or as a sequel to Margaret Atwood’s classic, The Handmaid’s Tale. “Atwood’s powers are on full display” (Los Angeles Times) in this deeply compelling Booker Prize-winning novel, now updated with additional content that … Booker Prize-winning novel, now updated with additional content that explores the historical sources, ideas, and material that inspired Atwood.
More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results.
Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third: Aunt Lydia. Her complex past and uncertain future unfold in surprising and pivotal ways.
With The Testaments, Margaret Atwood opens up the innermost workings of Gilead, as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.
more
The Handmaid’s Tale changed my life, especially reading it again against the backdrop of the world today. The Testaments continued that journey. It creates a world whose beginnings one can see in our own, creating a book that is both powerful and haunting, as well as entirely believable. That in and of itself is terrifying.
I was curious to read this, having read and enjoyed the much lauded, The Handmaids Tale. I was probably more intrigued to see why The Testaments shared the 2019 Booker Prize with Girl, Woman, Other by Bernandine Evaristo. See my earlier review (https://sckarakaltsas.com/2020/02/21/book-review-girl-woman-other-by-bernadine-evaristo/)
First, a bit about the book. It picks up fifteen years after the end of The Handmaid’s Tale, a sequel touting the answers to what happened to Offred. But this isn’t so much the case. Attwood cleverly pieces the narrative through the eyes of three women, although it took me quite a few pages to work that out. We have the elderly Aunt Lydia, (previously a judge before Gilead) who used the system to rise through the ranks. The others are two young women, one in Canada who was a baby refugee from Gilead and the other born and raised within Gilead. The three are involved in Gilead’s downfall.
It makes for interesting reading and like The Handmaid’s Tale is a fascinating look at a dystopian world inspired by past and present tyrannical regimes according to Attwood. The character of Aunt Lydia is quite brilliant in contrast to the two young women, who sounded similar in character, and perhaps that was the point when we learn about their connection.
I have mixed views about this one. I feel as if it were written purely to satisfy the readers who wanted more from the first book and from the hugely successful television series which I didn’t watch. Did it satisfy those questions? For me, it didn’t because I didn’t yearn for a sequel in the first place. Perhaps I’m being cynical but I wonder if it was written to capitalise on the success because it surely would have been a money spinner.
Did it deserve to win an equal spot with Girl, Woman, Other? I would say no. It is well written as you would expect and it is enjoyable to read. There’s a clever plot with a thrilling finish. But is it the literary masterpiece I’d expected? For me, it wasn’t. But hey, check it for yourself.
I should start this review out by saying I am not the typical audience for a book like this one. I rarely read dystopian novels, as the topics and plots do not appeal to me. I am more of a realist, historical, or mystery reader. I did not read the first book in this series, The Handmaid’s Tale, which made it difficult to connect with this one from the early pages. I attempted to watch the television show but couldn’t make it past the first episode, as it didn’t hold my attention. So… this is a rough review. Why did I read it, you ask?
I have a Book Bucket List on my daily blog, This Is My Truth Now. I keep a list of 12 books that are big award winners or by authors I adored in the past. I hold a poll each month to let readers and followers choose which book I will read. Last month, this book was the winner. I only added it because I selected all Goodreads Award winners or nominees from 2019 in this year’s initial list. I have done my best to read Margaret Atwood’s novel, and I’ll be as fair as possible. I 100% admit that I skimmed almost 50% of this book, as there were sections that just weren’t readable for me. So… why and what did I really think?
To me, this was not a story with a defined beginning and end. It was clips of a group of women’s lives over a few decades. We don’t have the opportunity to grow attached to them beyond feeling for the pain they suffer. When I think about the world they live in, I get angry that people could be this foolish and biased or that prejudice exists. I know it does, and I see it around me from time to time, but to immerse myself in the book is not something I enjoy doing. Many sections caught my attention, as there were elements of mystery or suspense. Who are these young girls? How are they connected to the first book? What will become of them? Will this world ever turn better?
I hummed along reading a few pages, skimmed a few pages, walked away, and came back days later. I finally forced myself to finish the last half today. Atwood knows how to write well. I like her style, and the characters have lots of potential. For me, the setting and plot are just a very poor match. So… rather than give the book a 1 or 2 because I truly cannot recommend it or find enough positive to say about it, I end up in the middle to account for my normal dislike of this genre. I firmly believe it is a narrow-minded reader who gives a book a poor rating in a genre they knowingly do not like. 1’s and 2’s are for bad books with major errors that are utterly painful. This was just a mismatch.
I think it was longer than it needed to be. It should’ve had a glossary or summary of the first book to help new folks out, those who don’t always feel obligated to read in order (tho I usually do, but here, I couldn’t subject myself to 2 books in a genre I likely wasn’t going to enjoy). There is great imagery. Tons of metaphors that went over my head. Often, I struggle to decide in a book like this if I’m just not smart enough or the author is just too random and stuck in his/her head to accurately depict something in a tangible and connected way.
Many thanks to the voters who picked this one. It’s good to expand horizons. That said, I will not be adding another dystopian novel to my Book Bucket List, but I’ll keep trying new genres to give them all a chance. Oddly enough, The Hunger Games, is one of my faves… because of the extraordinary plot and relationships among so many diverse an intriguing characters. This just didn’t provide enough of those elements.
I’ve waited since I was 15 to read the sequel to my favorite book, The Handmaid’s Tale. I didn’t think I would ever get to learn more about what happens to Gilead, but thanks to the popularity of the Hulu series , I did! And it did not disappoint!
I love THE HANDMAID’S TALE. It is one of my long-time favorite books. So I was excited when I heard there was a sequel coming once the show on Hulu had gained some steam. I pre-ordered this book and then ended up borrowing the audiobook from the library too. I listened to this feverishly. The narration was amazing. The actress who plays Aunt Lydia on the Hulu show, Ann Dowd, did the parts from Aunt Lydia in the book. Hearing her voice made it all the more real. Other famous narrators included Bryce Dallas Howard and Derek Jacobi. It was sooooooo good. And I was pleased with the way the story ended too. It gave me a satisfactory, happy ending. Definitely pick this up if you are a fan of THE HANDMAID’S TALE.
While I liked The Handmaid’s Tale, I wasn’t a huge fan. But I LOVED The Testaments. I’ve seen other reviews that say it wasn’t necessary to add to the world she created in the first book, but having read the second, I feel like I understand the first better. In fact, it makes me want to go back and read The Handmaid’s Tale again. I feel like I understand the whys and the details behind the world so much better. I highly recommend it.
If you’re a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale (the book or the show), you should definitely pick this up to find out the rest of the story of Gilead. While I still haven’t decided how I feel about the ending, I loved reading the perspectives of some new characters and found it to be a really satisfying continuation of the story.
Margaret Atwood has done it again. I found The Testaments equal to or not better than her incredible Handmaid’s Tale. We learn a lot more about Gilead, several new (not so new, but newly heard from) characters, and most of all surprises about Aunt Lydia. I cannot recommend this book too much. It is a must read!
Terrific sequel that provides a wider exploration of the world of The Handmaid’s Tale. The story feels more relevant than ever. Highly recommended.
“The Testaments” is a follow-up to one of my favorite books, “The Handmaid’s Tale” and I personally think both books should be on everyone’s must-read list. Both books are dystopian novels but what so many people fail to understand is that while writing it, Ms. Atwood relied on the true history of female persecution that has been happening and is still happening around the world to this very day. To this day, women have to fight for their rights: the right to be considered just as competent as a male colleague in the workplace, the right to decide when and whether to start or not to start a family, the right to make informed medical decisions for herself without her husband/partner’s authorization (did you know that in many states a woman can not have a hysterectomy without her partner’s signed permission because he might want children in the future??), to go outside – or go to a doctor, as it happened in “Testaments” without fear of being sexually assaulted while all she was doing was minding her own business. Both books are so important because they aren’t just about some hypothetical theocracy that may or may not happen; for many women all over the world – and in the United States as well – it is, unfortunately, the reality they have to deal with daily. It’s not just about Christianity, it’s about patriarchy oppressing women, regardless of the country’s dominant religion. This book hits so hard because it’s so unapologetically truthful. But at the same time, it gives hope – in the end, all oppressors face their demise. Hopefully, I will live to see it happen.
Frightening in light of current US climate on human rights and democracy. Encouraging to see regular people rise to the defense of humanity.
The best kind of disturbing, a wonderfully written polemic on the direction of our society if we don’t change things.
Brilliant, clever, insightful writing and world creation.
As Margaret Atwood has previously said, nothing that happens in her story (in reference to The Handmaid’s Tale) has not already happened somewhere, sometime in our history. It’s chilling to visit (through these pages) the world women have had to live in, but it’s empowering to think that we have survived and are changing our world. Action by those who live within a corrupt society can bring down even the most corrupt regime. Perhaps that message will be a beacon of hope for many.
Highly recommended. Would be a wonderful book for discussion groups.
**Margaret Atwood will be on a book tour in 2020. Hoping to get tickets to hear her speak.
Although I read “The Handmaid’s Tale” decades ago, this sequel brought that world back to life and both parts of the story remain gripping and chilling. Highly recommended — but be sure to read Handmaid first if you haven’t read it already.
***Mild Spoilers***
.
.
I loved The Handmaid’s Tale when I read it in the 1980s, so I was excited to read this. Also, Margaret Atwood is my one of my favorite authors, ever, so a new book from her is always exciting. I like the testimony approach of this book, and how everything ended up intertwined. I liked learning more about Aunt Lydia, and seeing how she got where she was and why she made the choices she did. It was a really satisfying conclusion to the first book. Not always what I expected, but definitely what I wanted.
Fans of the TV series should not expect the continuing story of June, for this long-awaited sequel is a different version of the story, in which June features only in occasional references. This is the written/spoken testament of three people: Aunt Lydia, Hannah/’Agnes’ (the daughter of June/Offred), and one other person whose name I won’t reveal because it would be a major spoiler.
The book is written in alternating chapters between the three, dotting from one to another with little indication of who is speaking, at first, or the exact timescale, though you get used to this. All three stories held my attention absolutely, all the way through – and I loved the inclusion of a group that doesn’t feature in the TV series. The Pearl Girls are missionaries to other countries to recruit for Gilead, and are essential to Margaret Atwood’s new plot.
Any negatives? Only very slightly – the path of Hannah/Agnes means that she knows no world other than Gilead, of course, and although she is something of a rebel in her head, she is bound to have their belief system ingrained within. At the beginning there was little difference between her ‘voice’ and that of the third POV, but she becomes more devout as she grows up and follows a route other than the one her ‘parents’ chose for her. The story speeds up in the last third, and the change in her seemed to come too suddenly. I was unsure about one aspect of the continuity, too, as the three POV stories converge.
Despite any slight misgivings, this book was even more compelling than I had hoped, faster moving and with more action and events than The Handmaid’s Tale, and gives more indication of what really goes on in Gilead, and how fragile the whole structure really is. Also featured is a backstory for Aunt Lydia that is different from the one on the TV, and just as interesting. Highly recommended – if you loved the prequel and are an addict of the TV series, you’ll adore this.
This was written years ago, and yet it seems to pertain to the present.
I wanted to know what happened after the first book and I’m SO glad Margaret Atwood wrote a sequel. This book is hauntingly amazing.
Definitely a disappointment after reading the first book- The Handmaid’s Tale – which was excellent. Even the purposed scenario as to how Gilead fell is not plausible. Especially after watching the Hulu series made from the first book, it’s hard to believe the whole thing would have happened so easily. However, I did enjoy Aunt Lydia’s back-story and appreciate Ms. Atwood’s effort to give her readers some answers, even if they fell short.
After enjoying a book as much as I did The Handmaid’s Tale, I get a little nervous when a sequel comes along… especially when it seemed that the original was going to be a stand alone. I really appreciate the author’s decision to answer the questions her fans and readers had by writing another book, though! I have to say, I was not disappointed in this one. I like how it was told in “testimonies” and feel like it added a whole new dimension to the story.
What I especially loved, and I can’t be sure if this was part of the book or merely because I listened to the audio version, but I loved that there was an afterward showing how Gilead was demolished, and how the author added her thoughts to how a totalitarian government would fall. I liked hearing how she saw the world she created and how she drew her creativity from real situations.
At the end of The Testaments, I feel like the reader will still have a few questions, but also feel a sense of completion with the series. I think the book lived up to the hype and I’m very glad to have read it.