Maria's Reviews > The Handmaid's Tale

4.8/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don't let the bastards grind you down.”

What can I even say about this masterpiece of a book? What can I even say that hasn't already been said? I'm awed to my core, this book is a prediction, a revelation, a hymn. This book is so fucking old, yet so fucking relatable and ahead of its time... it reads like 1984. The events in this dystopian book seem like such a close reality which scares me for the future of humanity.

I wanted to read this book for such a long time... but the tv show made me do it, at last. I'm so fascinated by stories like this, dystopian stories that hold truth to them, and I wanted to dive into this book with everything I had. And it happened. This book consumed me, I wanted to know everything, all the little excruciating details of this brand new world, all the thoughts in June's head, everything.

The writing was fascinating and yet sometimes I kinda lost track, especially at the dialogue parts which weren't really dialogue. The pace was a little slow, but I'm so used to YA quick pacing so I don't hold that against it. But this book was never boring or dull, it was everything it should be.

I saw some major differences with the show, the show took some characters and situations and created multiple things that didn't exist in the book. And I commend them on that. The TV show and and the book are two sides of the same coin, what lacked in the former the latter had and the opposite. One thing that let me down about the book is that we didn't see Serena and her relationship with June flourish at all. Their relationship is such a strong dynamic in the show, it is so fascinating to watch. At least we got to see it develop in the show.

I'm so irrevocably happy this story is going to continue, and so soon I've heard. We all know that came to be because of the success of the TV show, but I can't hold that against anyone because the story we are going to follow in the sequel is so much more different than season 2 of the TV show. I can't wait to again devour the next book, and I hope for many nexts. This is my first time reading a book from this author, and I don't think it will be my last.

To sum it all up, read this book. It tackles so many important issues about feminism and liberty of speech and it's even more important to read it if you're a woman. Just do it. You won't regret it. And till the next time, K BYE!!!