Book 177: "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

I read The Handmaid's Tale in college and was... unimpressed. I think I must have been overwhelmed with other books at the time (I was taking 4 lit classes that semester and some books just didn't hold my attention to detail as much as others). I re-read this book in preparation for the Hulu series (which you should also watch; it is chilling, but fantastic!) and I'm really glad I did. This book is great. 

The subject matter is especially poignant to our current political clime. It it is almost alarming how clearly you can see this happening. 

I can't discuss too much without giving spoilers, but this is a book about human rights, about women's rights, and about the dangers of extreme power and beliefs becoming a political party. It is written in present tense set in an undetermined future time. Because of infertility becoming more and more common, a political party was able to overcome the freedoms of our democracy little by little in an effort to continue to grow our population. The manipulations and end result are a dystopic society where women have become "precious" and yet stripped of all rights. 

This book is chilling. I really have no other word to describe it. But I love it, as I have Atwood's other books and look forward to reading even more of her work in the future.