Krishna
This was on my reading list even before all the hype and interest generated by the TV series and I got around to it recently. This is a science fiction based story, with all the characteristics of storytelling that bears the imprimatur of Margaret Attwood.
In a post apocalyptic America (no longer called America anymore but called Gilead) a girl rechristened Offred is put in a confine with strict rules. (They cannot talk in the night so they – all girls – learn to communicate by lip reading).
Anything sharp has been removed. No door has locks. Mirrors are polished metal so that you cannot get shards by breaking anything. She wears red and has wings around her head to limit her vision.
She joined the employ of Serena Joy, an erstwhile celebrity singer. She goes out and we realize that they are not allowed to look into the faces of the soldiers, who are young but not eligible for a ‘handmaid’ yet since they have not risen up.
Also there is one woman who appears to be successfully pregnant visiting the shop and you realize that pregnancy and babies are such rare occurrences that she is treated like a rock star.
The Handmaids are resented by others in the society. The narrator remembers her past, her past name, how she tried to escape with husband Luke and her daughter in a car to escape this oncoming nightmare, only to be caught and separated (before she became a handmaid)
She is the sex piece of commander and her purpose is simply to produce a baby. The brutal description of the loveless sex is gritty and shocking. So is her longing for the real thing and when a stableboy dares to hold her in his arms she is very influenced.
We witness the birth of a normal child which is something of an event, and we get glimpses of the past where war and radiation so devastated (what used to be called) America that the land became barren almost totally in terms of reproduction. The handmaids were simply sex slaves in effect.
Commander breaks all the rules asking her to come to his room to play Scrabble and then ask her to kiss him. Also her companion Ofglen seems to be a rebel with connections to a rebel gang of women.
When Commander takes her – she pretending to be a ‘hired woman’ to a club, she realizes that Moira, her friend, did not escape clean and has become a prostitute there. She learns of the underground network which helps people flee at great risk to their own members and how she was caught despite their help.
Now when the Commander’s wife ‘suggests’ that Offred try with a younger boy (in secret) to get pregnant, she agrees and has one tryst with the boy in the compound but ends up falling for him and going at night and meeting him – way too dangerous for both due to the unsanctioned nature of the visit. She takes risks not caring about the consequences.
The name of the handmaids are ‘of’ followed by the commander’s name (Offred is like ‘belongs to Fred’). Her oftentimes companion is Ofglen.
When she is forced to watch some hangings and also asked to kill an ex Guardian accused of rape, we see justice meted out like it is today in some rougher parts of the world and it chills us.
The ending is spectacular. The fact that she was found out and is fatalistically awaiting her fate wondering how she could have escaped if she only had the means to kill herself or even set fire to the place – wondering if she could act normal and brazen it out of the house by just walking out – the hopelessness and then the sudden twist are all fabulous.
The epilog, a professor’s lecture – that is all I will say about it – is phenomenal too. Wonderfully written – shows why she is one of the best writers today.
8/10
– – Krishna