Everyone knows the revolution starts in the grocery store first.
Offkermit has been taking more trips to the store than necessary, I believe she's a part of Mayday but she claims we're just out of green apples. Offkermit wouldn't betray us, I mean she greets us every morning right?
"Blessed be the fruit"
"May the lord open, Offkermit"
Kermit visits Gilead! What a horrible vacation idea. But we had to step back into the dystopian era that we're such big fans of. This book just has it all, horrible deaths, dystopia, tragedy and some slight humour that doesn't really make you laugh but you kind of just get it.
The idea for this book is just surreal, the whole story isn't so unlikely, would it really surprise someone if the world turned into this twisted place where people are forced to have children for someone else? Probably not, it seems like people can be mad enough for this be real.
Anyway back to the book. If you have seen the TV show with the same name, you'll know that the show actually includes everything from the book in the first season to the letter. There are no changes with either of the characters, the story or the things that happen. The only thing here is that the book ends differently considering the show is still ongoing and a new season is coming out soon.
The story however is surreal, it is so good and so sad. Offred talking about her life and her daughter is heartbreaking and how she is torn between morals and the new life she's been thrown into, is portrayed in every word Atwood has written down. All of Offreds dialogs are filled with pain but she always has that cleverness that shines through her writing and her plans. She's a really smart character that is really fighting for her rights and her life, but I actually think book-offred is much more a person you can enjoy and listen to than tv-offred. Tv-offred can be so annoying, I suppose that is because of the fact that they kept going with the story for too long.
The book consists of a claustrophobic depiction of Offred's confined and limited existence and Offred's own flashbacks and depictions of his situation. The story is constantly driven by a rare force, by Offred's despair and her frustration at not being able to tell, not being allowed to write, not having someone to listen. Bit by bit, the picture becomes clear of what losses Offred has suffered, perhaps the most painful: a daughter taken from her, and what society looks like. It's scary and desperate and extremely strong. It has been a long time since a book aroused so much emotion and thought. Here is a book that, among other things, addresses issues about religious fundamentalism and how quickly a society can be destroyed, about feminism and human rights and about oppression.
I was completely taken by this story. I tend not to be so diligent in reading these kinds of stories and a big part of the reason for this is that I often imagine that such books are easily overloaded with long descriptions of something so unnatural. However, this is something completely different. The book is written entirely from Offred's perspective and both the revolution that has led to the formation of the dictatorship, the society as it looks and the resistance movement that is perceived, is something that gets more and more contours through Offred's story. Offred's existence is mainly characterized by the fact that it is delimited and emptied of everything that can be considered the joys of life - to a large extent she only sits in her room and has no idea what divides and cuts in the world - so it really gives a razor-sharp image of what the dictatorial state looks like and how the people in it suffer. Everyone suffers, everyone is a victim, even the leader with whom Offred lives. It does not appear that states have succeeded in anything, not even men at the top seem satisfied with what they have created.
It is a smart, well written and clever book that is just so easy to read and get wrapped around in, I would recommend it even if you have seen the tv show before, like I have. It is just very much worth it.
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