The inimatable Ms. Atwood wrote her brilliant "Handmaid's Tale" in 1985, one of my top ten books of all time. It took 34 years to get the sequel and it is, in my humble opinion, worth it. There was the bad 1990s film, best forgotten, and the brilliant Hulu show, which brought this important novel back to prominence. The original story ended in ambiguity, the new novel does not. That being said it is as rich as the first yet very different. The setting is 15 years after the end of the first novel. The characters include two young women -- one in Gilead and one in Canada -- as well as a familiar character, Aunt Lydia. The three narratives intertwine to build suspense. The details tiptoe in, providing a powerful picture of the world Gilead has created. There are tremendous political threads but that is only the frame. The people, the women, are at the heart of the tale. Atwood's literary felicity is again hugely evident, as she draws strong characters and relatable stories which are layered and complex but easy to "get". The ending, as all definitive endings do, could cause some controversy but it will make you think about the big picture. Atwood had made it clear that she draws her inspiration from real-world events and that what some might see as an extremist society is anything but. In a time of tremendous upheaval in the United States these days (which was clearly part of the impetus for the sequel) this book is a great reminder that we should not allow the voices of hate to become the "new normal" or allow the little attacks to pass, as they foreshadow much worse. Not just a great novel, an important one. Should be required reading.
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