Topic: Must Read
There are some books that demand to be read simply for the pathos of their stupidity. I was reminded of this while posting about the untimely death of Natasha Richardson—who, I noted, had starred in one of the worst movies of all times, The Handmaid’s Tale. And it was no surprise that the movie reeked, for the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood was even more of a stinker.
Set in a future United States where religious fundamentalists have seized power, The Handmaid’s Tale pushes every progressive button on the ideological control panel, from anti-Americanism to radical feminism. Not that the idea of a fundamentalist dictatorship is necessarily a bad one. The science fiction writer Robert Heinlein used it to good effect in his 1953 novella, “If This Goes On…” But where Heinlein was primarily interested in telling an exciting story, Atwood was earnestly seeking to send a political message. Hence the general implausibility, swerving frequently into plain silliness, that permeates The Handmaid’s Tale.
The novel is worth reading, however, as a kind of social document. It offers an amusing glimpse into the kooky universe of radical feminism—though the realization that many people take such nonsense seriously is likely to alarm the discerning reader. And besides, though with no intention of being so, it's a funny, funny book.
