Books: The Handmaid’s Tale
June 21, 2010 | Books
I just finished reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (on Kindle). Sarah (@goonsquadsarah, Sarah and the Goon Squad) recommended it. I had read Atwood’s book, The Blind Assassin, four years ago when I was spending the summer in Norway. Hmm. Maybe Atwood is my official Summer-in-Norway Author.
What an oddly fitting segue from The War on Moms: On Life in a Family-Unfriendly Nation by Sharon Lerner, which was an impromptu read. Atwood’s book was on my summer reading list I made from recommendations. Lerner’s book made it on my radar after I read her Slate article about something I started writing about three years ago, the questionable “best company” lists in Working Mother magazine. Her article, “How Could One of America’s Most Sexist Companies End Up on Working Mother’s Best 100 List? And what does that say about American employers’ glowing reports about their own “family-friendliness”? ” was published May 24, 2010. It was good to see I wasn’t the only one to notice problems with the list.
Anyway. About the Handmaid. Unlike a Michael Douglas movie, which makes me feel glad I’m not him because I would never be in his situation, Atwood’s story seemed all too possible. It made me want to do a whole bunch of things — drink, smoke, run for president — because I CAN.