Book Report: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

You may have heard of this one, and you've probably already read multiple thinkpieces about the newfound relevance of The Handmaid's Tale (book and/or TV show) in the age of Trump. So I won't re-tread over that same ground. I'd like to write a few words about how Atwood has crafted this stark dystopia by enacting only governmental changes.

There's been no ecological disaster or nuclear holocaust, and there was no gradual political transition from the '80s current day in which the book was written to the misogynist hellscape in which it was set. The physical world is the same as it ever was, but the Gileadan (sp?) takeover, economically and horrifically described in flashback, was incredibly effective in brutalizing half of the population. One day you're a young mother trying to do the best for your young family, and a short period later you're being chased through the woods with your daughter as bullet zip past and your husband is probably killed elsewhere. Atwood does an excellent job of sowing doubt in Offred's character's mind about every man's motivations, even her ostensibly decent husband, who is shown to be somewhat controlling given the opportunity. It's harrowing throughout, but not any more so than the first couple of episodes of the show, which are nonstop brutal.