I know Atwood is a contemporary writer, but for some reason, I always expect her to be outdated. I remember reading The Blind Assassin back in high school and being surprised at how modern it felt, even though it was written in 2000. It's probably the artwork on the covers that make me feel that way. Is she doing it on purpose, do you think? Anyway, I liked that book back then, though regrettably I don't remember anything about it now.
The dystopian society of The Handmaid's Tale hits hard when considering today's world, but maybe that's just how it always feels in the world concerning women's rights. It feels important, though, that it's surfacing in popular media now. Power, gender, race, just generally what humanity does to itself. It's a lot to take in. And we're all fucked and so is history. Let me just point out though that the Japanese people were totally normal in this alternate universe.
The ending is really interesting and jarring, though I feel like I've ruined the surprise for myself now if I do end up watching the show. It made me think a lot about how history and time works irl, and it felt very strange to suddenly take such a distant speculative step back after being so close to the narrative for so long before that. Really though, I couldn't have chosen a better line to end with. "Any questions?". Yes. I have so many. And I love it.
There are a number of Atwood books on this list, and I think I'll indulge. See what this whole feminism thing is about. Talk soon.
