I hate myself for reading this book so late in my life for it's such a hard-hitting piece of work. We are introduced to The Republic of Gilead, a theocratic military dictatorship formed within the borders of what was formerly the USA. A totalitarian world where women are the government's property deprived of reading, working, knowledge, respect, and are treated as mere containers for babies.

I tried to come up with a different perspective for this book, but all I could think of was how relative it is to today's political climate even though the book was written 30 years ago. Although the narration of the book is hard to keep up with, it sticks true to the narrator's state of mind. The intense happiness the protagonist experiences while coming across simple objects like a magazine or a pen hits hard than one might think.

The Handmaid's Tale leaves such an uneasy aftertaste and that speaks volumes about how impactful Atwood's writing is. It is so hard to get rid of scenes that build up in your head after going through every chapter. They linger for a long long time. Gilead was a fictional dystopian land, but in a way, its essence was relevant when the book was written and is somehow still relevant now. "Freedom is subjective" as Atwood said.

Goes on my "Favorites" shelf.