Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
My Rating: 3/5
I first attempted reading this book for the first time in 2017 but gave up on it only after the first few chapters as I just found it too confusing.
I picked it up again in 2018 for the Spookathon reading challenge and even though I still found it overly confusing, I persisted in finishing it.
The main issue I had with this book was the lack of world building at the beginning. As the novel begins you are just thrown into what becomes obvious a dystopian world but it was like you were expected to already understand the terms, settings etc and this is what I found confusing.
As I have now finished the book and know all these things now I will most likely have to reread it at some point in the future to enjoy it without all the confusion.
There is so much happening in this book and even more that could be developed deeper. For this reason, I am interested in reading the sequel.
I liked Offred as the protagonist as even though the situations she was in were so far removed from anything anyone would endure in the real world, she seemed really relateable.
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