Genre: Dystopian
Type: Fiction
I have been reading so many dystopian novels recently that I have started to fear the future with so many what ifs. I could not dismiss this novel as unrealistic because the story begins similar to the present world if you sequence them in chronological order.
Overthrowing the previous government by force, a military rule is established in the Republic of Gilead. Women are stripped of basic rights such as choice of clothes, reading, writing, working to earn money and so on. They are divided into different groups based on their purpose. The fertile women (those who could bear children) are made into Handmaids; the Wives take care of the household of the higher ranking men like Commanders; Marthas are domestic servants of the household; Aunts train the handmaids at the Red Centre; Econowives who are wives of lower ranking men like the Guardians and also perform the activities of a Martha and if fertile, a handmaid too; Jezebels are rebellious women who chose to work as prostitutes in secrets sex clubs rather become an Unwoman to work at fields or clean radioactive wastes in the Colonies.
The handmaids are assigned to a Commander with infertile Wives for 3 years to bear a child for them( similar to surrogate mother). They are named after the Commander for the period. The plot revolves around the handmaid Offred who is assigned to Commander Fred. The Wife Serena Joy despises Offred while the Marthas Rita and Cora are not very friendly. Offred lives through the period reliving the 'before' time where she had a family with husband Luke and a daughter. The daughter is taken away from her and her husband is killed when she tried escaping to Canada. She hopes to find her daughter and escape again. In the meantime the Commander starts an illegal and inconclusive relationship with her while she starts liking Nick, the driver of the Commander. Did she escape from here? Did she find her daughter? Did she get together with Nick? Was she caught having relationship with the Commander? - The answers form the remaining story.
When I came to know this book was from way back in 1980's I couldn't be more surprised. Even today you can relate yourself with the oppression of women. With more awareness created everyday, women are enjoying their basic rights learning, choice of what to wear, reading writing, what to choose as a career. It made me think what if we are taking everything for granted. The handmaids are not given the choice if she should have a child with a man she barely knows and furthermore, she can't own a baby she gives birth to. The commander says 'Better never means better for everyone. It always means worse, for some' The society formed here screams that the women are protected by the laws yet they are made do things which do not respect their wishes or their feelings. The hypocrisy of the laws are similar to laws of the present. I am in a secular country but I can see huge intolerance towards other religions, the liberty of expression is at jeopardy and if we are not careful we could end up being another Republic of Gilead.
The book deeply affected me that I sometimes I felt like taking a jab at Aunt Lydia during her training sessions. I couldn't overcome the angst I felt and that is how I was affected. If you are a person who are looking for a fantasy dystopian story, this is not for you. The story shuttles between 3 different period of time and it takes several chapters to understand the schema. The vocabulary is simple and natural. The pace is slow and makes you hover over the story for a while.
Verdict: Suits readers who appreciate dystopian story with overwhelming treatment, especially hypocrisy at its best.
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