5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 24/07/2010

fantastic read i litrally couldnt put the book down i was extremly impressed by this book. how real it felt and how the world that was discribed in the book is actually starting to happen to us now as a nation. In george bushes rein he banned all textbooks that gave definitions of being gay or of divorce etc its very easy for us to slip in to a world like this book and its actually quite scary definatly worth the read.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 07/02/2008

I studied this book for my NCEA scholarship english exam a few years ago, but i read it again just recently. Margaret Atwood has really out-done herself in this novel, i found it a thrilling and gripping read, of a world i could never imagine, but is realistic enough to make you realise just how lucky i am to live in a society where women are treated with dignity and respect and we are given the right to act as we please.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 04/11/2007

This was the book that converted me to become a member of the Margaret Atwood fan club. Utterly believable, Atwood is a master story teller, linking the "what if" with the "what is" to present a frightening reality. The first time I read this book, I consciously decided to suspend disbelief during the setup - Atwood's power of imagination is demonstrated by the fact that this time around the possibility of the suspension on citizen rights is not at all hard to believe. This is on my top ten.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 26/05/2007

I loved this book. It is so rich with symbolism and mind blowing with this universe which she has created. I think the most outstanding part is that, like the Nazi regime, there is some form of twisted logic in it. However, this logic is embedded so deep in fear - the poor woman has no choice but to obey. The postscript gives us hope that, like the Nazi's, such a redical shift which is anthropolgically driven will never stick.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 09/03/2007

This story kept me entralled with it's vision of our future. I found the disjointed nature of the narrative as it bounced between past and present took me a little while to get used to, but I couldn't put this book down. A wonderful study of where our fanatacism could lead us, as the rights of the individual are supressed and healthy, fertile woman are seen as a commodity of the community.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 11/11/2006

I loved this dystopic text - a world of surrogate mothers, extreme patriachy, fundamentalism, loss of freedom. I liked the narrative voice and the use of the present tense. The narrative is stark - like the story itself. I would definitely recommend this not only to people who enjoy futuristic texts but also those who enjoy thinking about the state of our world today.
I am now curious about the movie... I think I'll go watch it and see what the adaptation is like.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 31/10/2006

Atwood's best novel in my opinion. This is one of my all time favourite books. It is chilling and haunting in its predictions, as you could imagine everything that Atwood writes actually occuring. The book is a mixtures of sci-fi and deep human drama, that makes you think about your own belifs and how far you would go to protect them. Religion plays a major role in this book also, questioning the fundemetal beliefs in christianity, and the hipocrasy that can occur in society.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 12/07/2006

Verging on sci-fi, this is not a book i would have usually read, but was recommended to me and i was grateful for that! An incredible fictitious tale of a woman trpped in a society where the role of women is to give birth and those who are sterile are treated as useless and are left to die. This is definitely a classic and a must read- it will change your perspective and make you appreciate the freedoms which we as women experience today.

5.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 14/06/2006

An amazing dystopia written by a woman, this book offers some real insight into the way childbirth and the value of children is perceived by society. What does it mean to be a mother? Who should be allowed to rear children? Who should control reporduction? All these issues are raised in this book by the presentation of a severely dysfunctional society.

4.0 out of 5 based on 10 reviews. – Customer review on 02/03/2006

This is a very strange book which serves as a warning about what our future could become as we see birth rates dropping and the manipulation of religious and its fundamentalists growing. Fans of Sci-Fi and books with really out there ideas will enjoy this book as its really well written and is also very interested. A great price for this classic story by awarding winning author Margeret Attwood, recommended