---
product_id: 42040517
title: "Handmaid's Tale, The (The Classic Collection)"
price: "AED 7"
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url: https://www.desertcart.ae/products/42040517-handmaids-tale-the-the-classic-collection
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region: United Arab Emirates
---

# Handmaid's Tale, The (The Classic Collection)

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## Description

Featured title on PBS's The Great American Read in 2018 Audie Award, Fiction, 2013 Margaret Atwood's popular dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale explores a broad range of issues relating to power, gender, and religious politics. Multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award-winner Claire Danes ( Temple Grandin , Homeland ) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, one of the most powerful and widely read novels of our time. After a staged terrorist attack kills the President and most of Congress, the government is deposed and taken over by the oppressive and all controlling Republic of Gilead. Offred, now a Handmaid serving in the household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life in breaking the rules in hopes of ending this oppression. The Handmaid's Tale is part of Audible’s A-List Collection, featuring the world’s most celebrated actors narrating distinguished works of literature that each star had a hand in selecting.

Review: Perfect and prescient for these times. READ it. - I will admit - Over the years, 'Handmaid' was one of those books everyone had told me just HAD to be read - but with the clear discomfort they'd show in saying that, I always thought - Nope; not for me. I'm just not one for the whole dystopian thing; I need to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Fast forward to last week - this book being required for my daughter's Eng Lit class, and sitting available while I was at loose ends in a Starbucks for several hours - I thought, Why not?... and how glad I am, that I had those few hours. Wow. I was gone, hook line and sinker, from the first page on. Handmaid is set in, yes, a dystopian future in which women's place in the world has been subverted, through various events which resonate awfully closely with current times. The story picks up at the moment when Offred (a concatenation of her "owner's" name and her position in this society) is assigned to a new home in a city in America, for reasons that become all too clear within a few short pages. Her experiences within this new environment, interwoven with her recollection of her past before this societal apocalypse, unveil themselves like the layers of an onion - a never-ending interweaving of recollections and current experiences which, in their close parallels with so much that seems to be happening in our current world, make it not just an uncomfortable read, as so many other reviewers have said; but an eerily prescient one for these times. I could go on about that aspect of what makes this such a valuable read for any person over the age of 10 years old, but I'm quite sure many of the 1,000 + prior reviewers will have spoken to that far more effectively than I ever could. But for me, what makes this book so great is the Voice that the protagonist gains as she struggles in such a harsh, unforgiving, and shockingly cruel environment - the brutal honesty with which that voice speaks to the horrors and impossible personal choices that any of us would have to make, faced with such a savagely misogynistic society. There is no turning away from those realities in this book; Offred is, clearly, no better than any of us; but, she is, perhaps, more honest about her choices than any of us would ever manage to be. She has no roads but dead ends; no feelings but pain, isolation, and tragic loss; in a society which both reviles her and yet absolutely, completely, stunningly, needs her. And yet. There is compassion - much compassion - in this book not just for Offred but for each of her persecutors; and a perfectly clear view, of each person in Offred's life, from the patriarchy which dictates every aspect of the lives of the Americans; to the women with whom she is forced to share the household; to the man who runs their lives - and in theory owns Offred, body and soul. Margaret Atwood has managed to capture the complete horror of this situation and yet the complete spectrum of needs and innate humanness - warts and all - of each of the players in this world, speaking with true sight not only about what they each do, but the real WHY of it, like a series of ornate but utterly constrained chess pieces moved about in a deadly game by unseen hands. Atwood's brilliance with the written word, the layers of meaning she assigns to so many individual words, is a both a challenge and a complete delight, no matter how difficult the topics she makes us consider. Each page is like unwrapping a gift of many layers of brightly colored paper, never knowing what you will ultimately find inside: something to treasure, or something to fear. Offred's voice and her observations of self, other, and society are so clear and beautiful, so bleak, sad and yet hopeful - so compelling - in making us see these people. There are many phrases and visions Atwood has generated that will stay with me, now, for life. I cannot say I am in all cases glad of that - but I know i am richer for it. And in reading many of the current, more negative responses of the desertcart reading community, I cannot help but wonder if their dislike of the book is in many cases driven precisely from Atwood's artistry with words. She holds up not a picture for us to view, but a mirror to reflect realities that in many cases no one in their right mind would want to see - they are far too close, too personal, too true. And yet - we MUST look. I do not see, as some others do, a depressing endgame in this book; quite the opposite. Offred's determination to survive no matter what the cost and her slow but relentless growth to her own form of power and eventual rebellion, is not so much a story as a roadmap. We could all do well by, like Offred, looking with clear eyes at this dystopian imagining. If, at the end of the day, this book leaves you uncomfortable or depressed or angry - good, if at the same time it also manages to leave you unsettled. Atwood's intent was never to entertain you but to inform you - and that, she does with a master's deft hand. Three days and counting. What will we learn in Atwood's new book? I look forward, with a perfectly uncomfortable blend of anticipation and anxiety, dread and hope, to the answer to that question.
Review: All We Have is Perspective - I picked up the kindle version of The Handmaid’s Tale due to the fact the library was out, and this book was not what I expected. I had heard of it many times before, a classic, and now it is culturally relevant more than it was a few years ago, probably explaining why the library was out. The strongest asset of this story is Margaret Atwood’s writing style. I was enthralled by her use of language and could not guess where the plot was going to go, which is almost always a good thing. In this case, however, I found the plot direction to be ultimately dissatisfying. This book reads more like a description of a very intricate and complicated society and less like a traditional story. The characters were fleshed-out and believable, yet by the end of the story I could not tell you how most of them grew or changed over the course of the book. The main character starts off by referencing aspects of the dystopian future she lives in, and slowly she reveals more details about this world as well as her past. I don’t think that the plot is supposed to be the focus of this book, but I couldn’t help being disappointed with the main character’s ending and the questions left over about her. I felt left hanging at the end of the book and especially at the end of the “Historical Notes” epilogue. It did explain some unanswered questions but for me also raised more. Typically I like open endings, because there tend to be a few likely possibilities and the reader can use their imagination or pick between what might be possible. With this book, however, I have no guess, I have no idea what might be possible endings to the main character’s story, which is only disappointing because I enjoyed the rest of the book so much. This is a minor complaint, though, considering that I imagine the book to be far more driven by description, metaphor, and social commentary than by the plot. Overall, though, I think that the descriptions and metaphors that paint her experience do a great job of building the world and tackling the important social issues that arise. This story has a lot to say about gender dynamics, relationships, procreation, and the way the government as well as society in general views and handles these issues. I think this could easily be seen as a cautionary tale, to keep empathy in mind and to try to see things from the view of “the other”. This is a story from a woman’s perspective, and the women in this story essentially function only as property of men, yet are controlled by other women. A society that has in many ways returned to the past. Atwood does a good job of also explaining the men’s dissatisfaction and unhappiness in this world, giving a sense of their perspective and how this future didn’t turn out how they’d hoped, which is a big reason I’d recommend this book to both men and women. There is a large amount of distrust observed by the main character, and I could see it applying to any person theoretically living in this dystopia, especially considering how different people have different kinds of power over each other. I think this resonates with real life, and I can identify with the main character in her seemingly constantly being aware of everyone having desires and negotiating. These are major themes I noticed in this story, which also does well to tie into the themes of relationships and friendships. These themes show us the importance of coming together, communicating, and standing up for others, especially when a government system creates enemies by generalizing large groups of people. This is an example of how this book is standing the test of time, is relevant now, and will likely continue to be relevant.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #5,138,776 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #56 in Literary Fiction (Books) #540 in Classic Literature & Fiction #9,852 in Books on CD |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 180,646 Reviews |

## Images

![Handmaid's Tale, The (The Classic Collection) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61gQoWXkRPL.jpg)

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This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perfect and prescient for these times. READ it.
*by R***N on September 7, 2019*

I will admit - Over the years, 'Handmaid' was one of those books everyone had told me just HAD to be read - but with the clear discomfort they'd show in saying that, I always thought - Nope; not for me. I'm just not one for the whole dystopian thing; I need to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Fast forward to last week - this book being required for my daughter's Eng Lit class, and sitting available while I was at loose ends in a Starbucks for several hours - I thought, Why not?... and how glad I am, that I had those few hours. Wow. I was gone, hook line and sinker, from the first page on. Handmaid is set in, yes, a dystopian future in which women's place in the world has been subverted, through various events which resonate awfully closely with current times. The story picks up at the moment when Offred (a concatenation of her "owner's" name and her position in this society) is assigned to a new home in a city in America, for reasons that become all too clear within a few short pages. Her experiences within this new environment, interwoven with her recollection of her past before this societal apocalypse, unveil themselves like the layers of an onion - a never-ending interweaving of recollections and current experiences which, in their close parallels with so much that seems to be happening in our current world, make it not just an uncomfortable read, as so many other reviewers have said; but an eerily prescient one for these times. I could go on about that aspect of what makes this such a valuable read for any person over the age of 10 years old, but I'm quite sure many of the 1,000 + prior reviewers will have spoken to that far more effectively than I ever could. But for me, what makes this book so great is the Voice that the protagonist gains as she struggles in such a harsh, unforgiving, and shockingly cruel environment - the brutal honesty with which that voice speaks to the horrors and impossible personal choices that any of us would have to make, faced with such a savagely misogynistic society. There is no turning away from those realities in this book; Offred is, clearly, no better than any of us; but, she is, perhaps, more honest about her choices than any of us would ever manage to be. She has no roads but dead ends; no feelings but pain, isolation, and tragic loss; in a society which both reviles her and yet absolutely, completely, stunningly, needs her. And yet. There is compassion - much compassion - in this book not just for Offred but for each of her persecutors; and a perfectly clear view, of each person in Offred's life, from the patriarchy which dictates every aspect of the lives of the Americans; to the women with whom she is forced to share the household; to the man who runs their lives - and in theory owns Offred, body and soul. Margaret Atwood has managed to capture the complete horror of this situation and yet the complete spectrum of needs and innate humanness - warts and all - of each of the players in this world, speaking with true sight not only about what they each do, but the real WHY of it, like a series of ornate but utterly constrained chess pieces moved about in a deadly game by unseen hands. Atwood's brilliance with the written word, the layers of meaning she assigns to so many individual words, is a both a challenge and a complete delight, no matter how difficult the topics she makes us consider. Each page is like unwrapping a gift of many layers of brightly colored paper, never knowing what you will ultimately find inside: something to treasure, or something to fear. Offred's voice and her observations of self, other, and society are so clear and beautiful, so bleak, sad and yet hopeful - so compelling - in making us see these people. There are many phrases and visions Atwood has generated that will stay with me, now, for life. I cannot say I am in all cases glad of that - but I know i am richer for it. And in reading many of the current, more negative responses of the Amazon reading community, I cannot help but wonder if their dislike of the book is in many cases driven precisely from Atwood's artistry with words. She holds up not a picture for us to view, but a mirror to reflect realities that in many cases no one in their right mind would want to see - they are far too close, too personal, too true. And yet - we MUST look. I do not see, as some others do, a depressing endgame in this book; quite the opposite. Offred's determination to survive no matter what the cost and her slow but relentless growth to her own form of power and eventual rebellion, is not so much a story as a roadmap. We could all do well by, like Offred, looking with clear eyes at this dystopian imagining. If, at the end of the day, this book leaves you uncomfortable or depressed or angry - good, if at the same time it also manages to leave you unsettled. Atwood's intent was never to entertain you but to inform you - and that, she does with a master's deft hand. Three days and counting. What will we learn in Atwood's new book? I look forward, with a perfectly uncomfortable blend of anticipation and anxiety, dread and hope, to the answer to that question.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ All We Have is Perspective
*by L***N on February 13, 2017*

I picked up the kindle version of The Handmaid’s Tale due to the fact the library was out, and this book was not what I expected. I had heard of it many times before, a classic, and now it is culturally relevant more than it was a few years ago, probably explaining why the library was out. The strongest asset of this story is Margaret Atwood’s writing style. I was enthralled by her use of language and could not guess where the plot was going to go, which is almost always a good thing. In this case, however, I found the plot direction to be ultimately dissatisfying. This book reads more like a description of a very intricate and complicated society and less like a traditional story. The characters were fleshed-out and believable, yet by the end of the story I could not tell you how most of them grew or changed over the course of the book. The main character starts off by referencing aspects of the dystopian future she lives in, and slowly she reveals more details about this world as well as her past. I don’t think that the plot is supposed to be the focus of this book, but I couldn’t help being disappointed with the main character’s ending and the questions left over about her. I felt left hanging at the end of the book and especially at the end of the “Historical Notes” epilogue. It did explain some unanswered questions but for me also raised more. Typically I like open endings, because there tend to be a few likely possibilities and the reader can use their imagination or pick between what might be possible. With this book, however, I have no guess, I have no idea what might be possible endings to the main character’s story, which is only disappointing because I enjoyed the rest of the book so much. This is a minor complaint, though, considering that I imagine the book to be far more driven by description, metaphor, and social commentary than by the plot. Overall, though, I think that the descriptions and metaphors that paint her experience do a great job of building the world and tackling the important social issues that arise. This story has a lot to say about gender dynamics, relationships, procreation, and the way the government as well as society in general views and handles these issues. I think this could easily be seen as a cautionary tale, to keep empathy in mind and to try to see things from the view of “the other”. This is a story from a woman’s perspective, and the women in this story essentially function only as property of men, yet are controlled by other women. A society that has in many ways returned to the past. Atwood does a good job of also explaining the men’s dissatisfaction and unhappiness in this world, giving a sense of their perspective and how this future didn’t turn out how they’d hoped, which is a big reason I’d recommend this book to both men and women. There is a large amount of distrust observed by the main character, and I could see it applying to any person theoretically living in this dystopia, especially considering how different people have different kinds of power over each other. I think this resonates with real life, and I can identify with the main character in her seemingly constantly being aware of everyone having desires and negotiating. These are major themes I noticed in this story, which also does well to tie into the themes of relationships and friendships. These themes show us the importance of coming together, communicating, and standing up for others, especially when a government system creates enemies by generalizing large groups of people. This is an example of how this book is standing the test of time, is relevant now, and will likely continue to be relevant.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A thoughful read, if and only if, you think about it.
*by T***N on August 11, 2013*

The Handmaid's Tale is a relatively "old" book in that it was first published in 1985, but it is still popular/well-known. This is not surprising as Margaret Atwood is one of those author’s whose work will endure as "literature" and she will still be well known in 100 years. That is, unless the Handmaid's Tale is prophetic and all secular literature is burned. Don't worry, it won't be. However, it does have some elements that could be argued as being a caricature of modern day happenings. There are plenty of reviews out there that give a run down of the plot and how they feel it's all happening right now. No doubt many of these reviews are from women, and justifiably so since this book "speaks to them". So I'm going to discuss the subtext of the novel, and hopefully, I can get a few guys to read this book because there is stuff in it for them. The background story is that The United States has been taken over by religious fundamentalists. The religion is never mentioned by name, but it is clearly Christian/Jewish/Islamic. When it comes to their respective flavors of fundamentalism, they all bear a striking resemblance to one another whether they want to admit it or not. This is not surprising, since they all worship the same god and use overlapping religious texts. If you're curious about the tale of how this happened, this is not the book for you. After all, this is the Handmaid's Tale. All you get is the story of one woman starting probably about 10 years after an event called "The President's Day Massacre", i.e. the coup where the fundamentalists took over. Personally, I do not think such a regime could take over in such a simple manner, but what followed after the coup is more plausible. As I said, we don't get much of this story directly, but we hear snippets of how, slowly, over the course of weeks and months, oppressive policies are implemented and they are always implemented for the same reasons that such policies are implemented today. Namely, the safety of the public, the betterment of society, etc. At the same time, women are slowly and unequally stripped of their rights. If you think that women could never be usurped of their identities in this way, and no one would stand for it, blah, blah, blah. You are wrong. All it takes is the right social pressure. Imagine a scenario where the number of women capable of bearing children is cut to a small percentage. They then become a "national resource". (My words, not the author's.) When it comes to resources, there will always be people (usually men, and this is coming from a man) in power who will want to exploit and seize control of such resources. This is how such things can happen. And this is the scenario used by Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale. When I was younger, I probably would never have bought that line of reasoning and not terribly enjoyed this story. As I've aged to a venerable 40 years and some of my Platonic idealism has tarnished, I have learned to accept that "the masses" don't get as outraged as individuals do. Most of the time, groups of people are scared when it comes to dramatic change and accept it if fed the line that it is temporary and for the good of all. Most of the time, these changes are never about being for the good of all, they are simply about control. A past example to show even women are not above this: The Temperance movement to abolish alcohol. Propelled by religious minded women, fresh with their new ability to vote. Despite Jesus being pro-wine they felt it their duty to rid the world of drink. You can argue the details all you want, but at the end of the day, it was about asserting power and control. A modern example: For the past 12 years, the U. S. citizens have been force fed the line that we are all living under a faceless threat of "Terror" and in this time we have fought two wars, one of which we are still fighting, and most of us don't really know why, other than we are "fighting terror". These wars are not as openly covered as the Vietnam War, because our government has learned that atrocities that are not visited daily are quickly forgotten because people prefer to stick their head in the sand. And so people forget. They don't get outraged. They simply accept the situation because it is supposedly temporary, for the good of us all, for all our safety, blah, blah, blah. What are we looking to control? Some say oil, others say that the area is strategically located real estate. Regardless, it is about control. So do I think a "fast coup" could take over and make such radical changes? No. But a slow insidious change over the course of a decade or two? Well, I have seen it with my own eyes, so yes, the scenario in The Handmaid's Tale is plausible to me, but I know that such a shift would happen over years, not months. Anyone who thinks otherwise is sticking their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes, and repeating the above blah, blah, blahs. A possible future example that's been a long time in the making: During the 80's (my youth) religious fundamentalists (in this country) blew up abortion clinics because they were outraged and wanted change. Presumably, they wanted things to return to the way they were when abortions were illegal, in back allies with coat hangers. Just in my lifetime, they have since learned that getting people upset only motivates them to stand with or against you. And if you're the one blowing up teenagers, it's tough to motivate people to stand with you. They have taken their fight political, a realm where everybody's eyes glaze over and become dispassionate, and they have slowly set about making laws against birth control and abortion clinics. As someone who is pro-choice, I can't say all of these laws are bad. Many are simply requiring clinics to uphold standard medical cleanliness practices. The laws that really hurt, are the laws that reduce or eliminate funding preventing the clinics from having the money to be able to upgrade their facilities and are forced to shut down. You can tell this is about the control of others and not about any religious objection because the number one cited religious reason is the belief that life begins at conception. Rather than supporting research for birth control that simply prevents conception, they politically attack all avenues of abortion and birth control. So even if you address their concerns, it does not change the way they behave. Leaving the examples and subtext behind, back to the story at hand. The Handmaid's Tale is true literature, thus by practical definition, this makes the story a little slow and boring at points. When I was in college, I had to take plenty of slow and boring classes that I thought were of minimal value. However, I quickly learned that it is possible to garner lessons from and learn something from every class and that is what I set out to do. I took it upon myself to walk away with something for my time and money. This book requires that same model of thought. Even after 28 years, there is a wealth of intriguing thought experiments that went into the writing of this story and a similar trove for those willing to consider the next step of reasoning, but you have to be willing to dig for that gold. And there you have it. The subtext of The Handmaid's tale is a marvellously thought provoking book about the subtleties that go into how societies change, but if you're not interested in thinking, move on to something formulated for entertainment purposes this is not the novel for you.

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