Although I had only read two of her novels before (Cat's Eye and The Penelopiad), they were enough to convince me of Margaret Atwood's exceptional writing ability. I was, thus, excited to start The Handmaid's Tale.

This novel is set in a dystopian near-future, in which America has become a totalitarian theocracy in which women are oppressed. The world is gradually revealed by the narrator, but done in a thoroughly convincing, and as a result disturbing fashion.

First published in 1985, this novel still is a powerful look at modern society, and highlights many of its flaws and hypocracies. It is always troubling to be reminded of just how fragile our world really is...