34 years but this story is timeless. Atwood speaks in a universal voice that exposes the cracks in society and will forever be a horrifying mirror.
(Contains light spoilers) This book like The Handmaid's Tale is about survival and how in order to survive monsters, sometimes you have to become one. Book one we saw Offred doing things in order to survive Gilead. Book two Atwood made the excellent choice of using Aunt Lydia’s perspective. In this you see further down the line of what happens when you become said monster.In backstory we see how far she’s gone, learning that her beliefs weren’t aligned with Gilead’s beforehand. It wasn’t a straight walk into this life, she made it hers, made it her playing ground, became a fellow monster and then surpassed them all. She takes steps to go further than the Gilead leaders, deciding who should die to renew Gilead. Her actions broadly could be interpreted as good, but no. Atwood cleverly uses narration through the lens of a journal. It’s not a journal for secrets, at least not for ones that intend to stay hidden. It’s, as the name suggests, a testament. It’s everything Aunt Lydia wishes to be remembered by and there is not one drop of her former self in it. It is pure inflated ego and it’s a captivating read.
Aunt Lydia’s point of view made this book for me unfortunately the other two didn’t. It could have been the age difference of the characters, but, especially for Nichole, she just wasn’t realistic. She was too gung-ho, didn’t react to trauma and just didn’t make sense and inevitably made her unlikable. For Angus the indoctrination aspect was interesting but I didn’t feel like her evolution was well done. When she is confronted with life changing things, she was still scolding and being a good Gilead girl. Which to some extent is understandable, you don’t change overnight but it was too much.
Also, the ending was a let-down. Atwood had good momentum and it didn’t come to fruition. Otherwise this book was an important read and one I’m so glad I undertook as again, with anything to do with this story, it inspires you to strive for a better world.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Originally posted on Instagram* https://www.instagram.com/p/B-cZ608AFes/
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