Sexism or Science Fiction? Wider Reading 1: The Handmaid's Tale

"The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one option: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like all dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs."

Set in a nightmare future world similar to that of 1984 or The Chrysalids, The Handmaid's Tale tells the story of a police state where women are bought, sold and traded like laying hens, food is scarce and bought with coupons and difference is dangerous.

Offred (Of Fred) lives with the Commander and his wife against her will, in order to give birth and help raise the sagging birth rate, the result of a collossal nuclear war. Due to the radiation stillbirths and deformities are common, and a live, healthy baby is everything. Despite her unhappiness Offred attempts to do her duty. In her attempt to find independence and identity she begins a secret affair, first with the Commander, and then with Nick, the driver.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It is in the science fiction genre, but deals with issues present in today's society, such as women's rights, police states and nuclear disarmament. The totalitarian state in which Offred lives is so chillingly described you find yourself transported to the middle of the action. The sardonic wit with which it is written made it very enjoyable to read, and the drip-feed of flashbacks narrating Offred's past made me want to read on.

The Handmaid's Tale - Identity Quotations

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