Since I'm practically the last person on the face of this earth to read this book I'm not even going to waste time doing an overview. I've been digesting this book for over two weeks now. I listened to the audio performance and I thought that might've had some effect on my feelings about this book so I went back and actually read parts of the book that I was conflicted about and I still feel the same way.

We were given the story soooooo slowly and piecemealed together based on whatever Offred decided she might or might not throw out there and I felt like I was pulling teeth trying to get the full picture. I seriously felt like I needed to jump to the end of the book to see if I could get a clearer picture of the entire story and then come back and read the beginning.

Then on top of that, there weren't any clear separations in the audio so it was extremely hard for me to tell if Offred was having flashbacks or if those scenes were happening at that moment. Needless to say, I got off to a very rocky start.

It wasn't until over half-way to three-quarters in, that I finally started actually enjoying the book and then - it just ENDED! Omg, I was so freaking mad. I could not believe it. I absolutely hated that ending! Yeah I got the gist that she escaped but I do not like having to infer an ending. It drives me nuts! I like to know 100% that yes, this happened or no, it didn't happen. Not to mention, they never did tell us what happened with her family- or did they and I missed it??
( )

My original The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This modern classic needs little introduction. For those who have not read it: it is about a dystopian future where a neo-religious group has overthrown the American government and rearranged society into a anti-technological and rigidly male dominated theocracy. Fertility has dropped to dangerous lows and drastic measures are instituted to increase the population. Handmaids are young fertile women who are slaves to their wealthy masters. Their only purpose is to get pregnant. If they don’t (even if the man is infertile), they are shipped off to “the colonies,” to clean up nuclear waste sites where life is hard and brief.

Many have described it as a feminist book, and there is a lot of male bashing, but men should not be put off by this. It is a thoughtful book that both men and women can relate to. There is deep realism in the dark future Atwood describes. There are no strange technologies or tech that cannot actually exist. It is a thoughtful look at human nature, political and cultural extremes that could, if taken to their extreme, happen. The characters are flawed, often cowardly, sometimes brave, but always human. The claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a totalitarian world where a wrong look could mean death is too frighteningly real. Human nature at its worst.

The story is performed by Claire Danes who is nothing short of brilliant. If you have read the book (as this reviewer has), you will get even more out of it by listening to this amazing performance. Ms. Danes gives the listener a feeling of something very personal, like you are listening to a confession you wouldn’t dare interrupt. Excellent.

The Handmaid’s Tale is disturbingly and coldly realistic. You may not like what you hear, like you are listening to someone describing your deepest character flaws, but listen you must. Like all great books, it is philosophy wrapped in a story. Highly recommended for the story, and doubly so for the audio presentation.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher. ( )

2017 Audible Audio Special Edition vs Claire Danes' 2012 Audio Edition vs 2017 Hulu TV Series Tie-in Edition

This is not a regular review but more of a quick report on the Audible Audio 2017 "The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition" vs. Claire Danes' 2012 Audio "The Handmaid's Tale" vs. the Hulu TV-series tie-in edition "The Handmaid's Tale" for those who are curious about the additions and the differences.

In the 2012 Audiobook, actress Claire Danes reads the entire book including the Historical Notes: 12th Symposium on Gileadean Studies appendix. In the 2017 Special Edition Audiobook, Claire Danes reads only the Offred diary segments and now even the Chapter headings are announced by another voice. The 12th Symposium on Gileadean Studies is now performed by an extended cast. Only veteran audiobook narrators Ray Porter and Tim Gerard Reynolds are identified by name at the Audible page. It is likely Tim Gerard Reynolds who performs the Professor James Darcy Pieixoto role.

The 2017 Special Edition Audio also enhances the 2012 recording further by adding tape machine foley & snippets of music prior to the Claire Danes readings. This is to give the additional aural illusion that we are listening to the Offred tapes as they were originally camouflaged with music at the beginning of each tape. The Pieixoto lecture segment is aurally enhanced to give the impressive of the acoustics of a large room with occasional audience applause. The Special Edition Audio increases the timing of the Symposium by adding a newly written 20 minute Q&A segment (the original ends with "Are there any questions?") where Pieixoto answers standard sorts of soft-ball student questions in a somewhat deprecatory manner. This just adds to the impression of the future sociologists being contemptible. Then there is a new 10 minute "Afterword" written and read by Margaret Atwood herself where she remembers her original writing of the book and the reactions to it. She gives a heads-up that she has a cameo in the forthcoming Hulu TV-series. The Special Edition ends with a 30 minute essay by Valerie Martin on the book's lasting relevance. From the internal references it sounds like the Martin essay is from 2005.

The Hulu TV-series paperback tie-in edition has a newly added introduction by Margaret Atwood. THIS IS THE SAME AS THE AFTERWORD IN THE SPECIAL AUDIO EDITION, just so you know. Look for the editions that note the Introduction i.e. there may be past editions that are stickered as "Hulu TV-series coming", but they aren't the real tie-in edition.

Are there any questions? ( )