The Testaments
by Margaret Atwood, 2019, Nan A. Talese, Doubleday
This book is the sequel to The Handmaiden which was written 34 years prior. The book appears to be in response to the overwhelming attention that the prior book has received in the last few years due, in part, to the Hulu television series and also due to the use of the images of the Handmaidens used in some current women’s rights protests.
The book takes place about 15 years after the events depicted in The Handmaiden. It’s based on the testimony of some of the participants that was discovered many years later. It essentially explains what happened after The Handmaiden novel abruptly ended.
Unlike The Handmaiden the events in The Testaments unfold in a much more transparent way. The author assumes that the reader has read the prior book so she doesn’t spend much effort in bringing a reader who is unfamiliar with the scenario up to date but launches right into the story. It takes a little bit of time to get used to who is providing the narrative as it jumps among the three primary characters. Once you get the hang of who is narrating, it is pretty easy to follow.
I missed the creepiness of the prior book in this one. I already understood Gillead’s kind of society so the events in this book didn’t really shock me, whereas the prior book kept creeping me out as it unfolded. This book ended up a bit more like a thriller adventure story rather than a novel about living in a dystopia.
While the novel didn’t seem to have the impact that the first one did, it is a good follow up and is particularly good at addressing questions left unanswered by The Handmaiden.
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