The Handmaid's Tale

The bedside book for a new generation.

Under the pretext of terrorism, theocratic politicians seize power and, as a first measure, suppress freedom of the press and women's rights. This unsettling and dark plot, which could well be found in any current work, actually belongs to this novel written by Margaret Atwood in the early eighties, in which the renowned Canadian author anticipated with striking premonition a latent threat in today's world.

In the Republic of Gilead, Offred's body is only useful for procreation, as imposed by the rigid rules established by the puritanical dictatorship that dominates the country. If Offred rebels - or if, reluctantly agreeing to cooperate, she is unable to conceive - death by public execution awaits her, or banishment to Colonies where she will succumb to the pollution of toxic waste. Thus, the regime controls with an iron fist even the most minute details of women's lives: their food, their clothing, even their sexual activity. But no one, not even a despotic government sheltered behind the supposed mandate of an almighty god, can govern a person's thoughts. And much less their desire.

The inherent dangers of mixing religion and politics; the determination of all absolute power to subjugate women as a step towards subjugating the entire population; the uncontrollable force of desire as a transgressive element: these are just a sample of the themes addressed in this heartbreaking story, seasoned with the subtle sarcasm that is Margaret Atwood's hallmark. A universal writer who, with the passage of time, never ceases to amaze us with the lucidity of her ideas and the power of her prose.

Critics have said...
«Margaret Atwood is not only a brilliant writer, she is also one of the most awarded, most successful of our times. She has become an intellectual to whom many turn for answers, a kind of visionary.»
Sandra Sabaté, El intermedio

«An extraordinary novel destined to succeed Orwell's as a metaphor for the immediate future. If in 1984 the existence of a Big Brother was fabulated, which, in our eyes, is synonymous with remote control and drones and reality TV; it could be said that The Handmaid's Tale anticipates the current obsession with fertility, in a context of religious extremism that is also suspiciously familiar to us.»
Jorge Carrión, La Vanguardia

«It is a gem that deserves to be read, even if you have seen the series. I read it years ago and I thought it was good, very well written and a brutal but absolutely implausible story. Now, however, when you reread it, you discover disturbing symptoms of our time. How history - of humanity in general and of women in particular - takes giant steps forward and suddenly, in a very short time, everything goes to waste. It leaves a bad feeling, I warn you.»
El País

«The Handmaid's Tale is the story of the loss of freedoms that we believe to be inalienable. Although it was published more than 30 years ago and the regime that inspired it (the so-called German Democratic Republic) no longer exists, the book is read today as a completely current work, not least because recent events seem to show that Gilead is no longer just a literary dystopia, but a possibility.»
Babelia

«It deserves a place of honor on the small shelf reserved for works of anticipatory literature that have managed to become part of modern folklore.»
Publisher's Weekly