Description

In a near-future America, Christians seize power through force. They strip women of their rights. The new rulers sort women into groups with strict duties. Birth rates are low, so they force Handmaids to bear children. Offred is among the first of these women.

Offred feels alone and in distress. She tries to block out thoughts of her past family life. She seeks to cope with the new order by accepting its rules. But she soon learns that even its rulers break them.

Canadian author Margaret Atwood writes dystopian fiction: tales of a bleak world. She blends this with suspense and a study of the mind. The novel looks at faith, state power, and sex. It also shows life under harsh, cruel rule. Atwood uses wordplay and dark wit. She gives even cruel figures more than one side. The book won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. It also became a television series.