The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale Hardcover – September 10, 2019

It's tricky to mess with a classic. I think it's mostly because once a piece of art attains "classic" status, almost all of those who have experienced it - in the case of a classic book - read it, now feel like they own it. Books and films in particular have a hard to define participatory effect where the reader becomes part of the story and therefore defines the story and characters according to their own interior perspective and thought process. When it comes to either the most revered classics and/or books that achieve their renown via first person, possibly unreliable narrator who exists in a world not fully sketched out and purposely left hazy as a storytelling device, the more the reader will tend to go ahead and sketch that world out with their own assumptions. This means that said classic book becomes something slightly different for every fan, taking on a particular shape and form that becomes almost talismanic for some, quasi-holy for others. It would be hard to find a book published in the last half century more revered than The Handmaid's Tale, so when we all saw the announcement that Margaret Atwood was bringing a sequel, we also all knew there would much hand-wringing and kvetching no matter WHAT the next chapter focused on. For my money, you couldn't ask for a better continuation of the story.I first read The Handmaid's Tale last year. It had nothing to do with the TV show or cultural resurgence of the story and it's oh so prescient themes. It was just on my bookshelf of "VERY IMPORTANT BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ SOMEDAY" and I finally got around to it. As a 49 year old white middle-class male raised in a middle-class Mid-Atlantic USA type of world I really didn't think it would be a home run for me. I was wrong. I fell down the same hole that so many others have found themselves tumbling through into Gilead and the murky, strange world of Offred. I love the entire thing, including the post-script... thought about it for about two weeks, then moved on with my life. I haven't ever been interested in the TV show. When I saw The Testaments up for order, I figured I should at least see what shape the story would take and I hit the buy button. Now I have just finished it and not only was it what I was hoping for but I don't think anyone could hope for anything better than this, in regard to gaining perspective and context on what led up to the previous book as well as the fallout of the events that take place in The Handmaid's Tale.As mentioned, there will always be some that don't WANT perspective and/or context on a classic, timeless allegorical and prophetic novel. For me though, it was fascinating. Seeing motivations peeled back, repercussions revealed and a legacy played out over a new generation added immensely to the previous story and only made it more emotional and tender to me. Sometimes when a story ends you almost don't want to know what happens to a certain protagonist and sometimes you are just itching to know more. I wasn't sure how I felt about Offred and/or the entire cultural landscape in the Handmaid's Tale, but now that I know more, it all just feels deeper and more meaningful to me.I'm trying hard to not put any spoilers in this review, even light ones, so there's a lot I don't want to say. I will put it like this. If The Handmaid's Tale was a close-up on one character, The Testaments is a panning, wide-shot of an entire culture that encompasses three main viewpoints and ties together in a satisfying and logical way. It does take a few chapters to build up some steam, but trust me when I say, once the story gains momentum - it moves along quickly and flows in some unexpected directions.Sequels written decades later can end up really crashing hard sometimes, but in the hands of such a talented author, you get a book like The Testaments. It meshes perfectly with the previous story while still being timeless and speaking to current society at the same time. Since I'm just one person, that's just my opinion and many will find fault with this book, believing it's either too much or not enough, or not necessary or whatever. But I think it's a great gift from an author to her fans. Unwrap it and enjoy.

“You don’t believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you.”I don't think there is a greater pleasure in reading, than experiencing a Margaret Atwood book narrated by the likes of Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard and Mae Whitman! I put off diving into this book because 'The Handmaid’s Tale' remains one of the most unforgettable stories I have ever read. This sequel to that book focuses on the horrors of the current Gilead, some years in the future after the events of the first book. There has been a whole generation of girls who have grown up in Gilead, and who know nothing different than violence and persecution. But for them, this is their normal.The Testaments is told through three points of views. One of them is Baby Nicole, who now lives in Canada and is an internationally-known figure. The other is Aunt Lydia, and the final one is Agnes, a young woman who has grown up in Gilead and in an almost neutral voice, describes the everyday horror of Gilead: rape, execution and violence against the citizens, especially women. Aunt Lydia's chapters are the most fascinating: how did a seemingly ordinary and educated woman become such a monster?“And how easily a hand becomes a fist.”Ordinary people became swept up in the totalitarian regime and extreme religious persecution that swept through what was once the United States of America. Margaret Atwood has an uncanny ability to take current events and expand upon them to predict the future. Men rule Gilead with an iron fist and citizens are turned against each other. Women are kept repressed through illiteracy and arcane laws against abortion and clothing.The ability for free thinking and individually is of course forbidden in Gilead. Propaganda rules the day. The contrast between the oppressive regime and free societies is seen though the eyes of narrators from Canada, the place where people escape to from Gilead.One of the most chilling aspects of this story was they way in which women' voices were silenced. In Gilead, four women equal the testimony of one man. It is easy to compare how dangerous religious zealots become when put into positions of power. One cannot hep but compare the events of today with the stories told in 'The Testaments'.Aunt Lydia's narration is the most surprising and the most enlightening. Whether you can sympathize with her or not, her story is both tragic, violent and at times, sharply funny. An educated woman before the overthrow of the United States, she has used her intelligence and wits to survive. She was once a family court judge and now has become a symbol of the violently repressive Gilead regime. She of watched as many of her colleagues were captured, tortured and executed all in the name of the new fanatical regime.“All that was necessary was a law degree and a uterus: a lethal combination.”I can't stop thinking about this story and its main characters. 'The Testaments' is a fast-paced, smartly-written and extremely thrilling tale that is more than thought-provoking. It is a must-read story for our modern times.“As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

La guarda llegó un poquito maltratada, pero el resto del libro está en perfectas condiciones.

Adorei o livro (não li ainda). Ele e6bem grande, mais de um palmo. A fonte é perfeita, o espaçamento entre linhas é ótimo, não deixando a leitura pesada. Recomendo. Custo benefício tá ótimo. Comprei a 26 reis e agora está a 21. Corram!!

Not wanting to be repetitive but; Margaret Atwood sits atop a class of master storytellers!I harbour little doubt – getting pretty close to infinitesimal – that this lady has yet to unleash her total wealth of writing energy.The Testaments is time-set a dozen or so years later than that of her powerhouse, The Handmaid’s Tale. Three narrators, all female of course, share the task of showing the reader the changes that have occurred; a world that is more corrupt and trust is, well, do you even dare take that chance?Atwood’s writing is fearless and brilliant and though supposedly about a dystopian future, I wonder if she is not an oracle or possesses the power of a seer given the recent tragic (and I think it nothing less) decision of the United States Supreme Court that delivered not only a near-knockout blow to women’s reproductive rights, but set back severely an eternity of struggle for rights of all kinds. It scares the hell out of me, it really does!Atwood’s future, if it remains such (and let us fervently pray it does!), illustrates very well what 18th century English historian Lord Acton wrote: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.”The Testaments is a powerhouse book that may actually prove a weapon to fight and defeat the kind of future it portrays.

J'ai été livrée très rapidement après la commande et le livre etait protégé, conforme à la description: merci!

This book picks up over fifteen years after Offred’s tale in the Handmaids Tale. The Testaments tells the story of three females from Gilead, Agnes, Aunt Lydia and Nicole.We learn that though Agnes had a fairly good start at a life with Tabitha and Commander Kyle. Unfortunately, Tabitha is taken ill and when she dies and Commander Kyle takes a new wife called Paula, things rapidly go from bad to worse for Agnes. Then when she is touched inappropriately whilst at the dentist she has no where to turn. The dentist is her best friend Becka’s father so she can’t even really confide in her either. Agnes is being pushed out more and more at home with all Paula’s changes, bringing in a handmaid. Sadly, Ofkyle dies giving birth to baby Mark. Agnes’s popularity goes up and down in a way that shadows her life at home. Agnes overhears people saying that her mother was a slut from before. Agnes leaves behind the pink/plum uniform and is transferred along with some of her friends to wife preparatory school where they wear the light and dark green uniform of those awaiting marriage. Not all the girls wish to be married but their families try and push them into hoping that they are paired with a powerful Commander who will lift the whole family higher on the Gilead hierarchy.The second female voice of the book is that of Aunt Lydia. We learn about her life “before” Gilead as a Judge who dealt with families and what is considered by Gilead as all that was wrong with society. We discover how Aunt Lydia was herself rounded up when women were stripped of their rights and assets. We see how she was mistreated and forced to do the bidding of the men, though she herself was also instrumental in coming up with some of the punishments for the women who would not comply. A woman who she kind of befriends when they are rounded up, refused to comply and was shot dead in front of Aunt Lydia. The women were made to turn on and turn in each other or not complying with the new rules and ideas. It becomes apparent that Aunt Lydia has worked her way up the ranks of the Aunt’s into a fairly safe position where she can orchestrate certain things to her liking and to further her own cause. She uses her knowledge and position with certain Commanders to get things done, all whilst making the Commander think it was his idea or allowing him to take credit when her idea is applauded by those further up the chain of command in Gilead.The third female voice is that of a young girl called Daisy who has been living with Melanie and Neil in Canada. All has gone fairly normal and quite mundane in her life until her 16th Birthday when a car bomb explodes and kills both Melanie and Neil. She is grabbed from the street by family friend Ada and taken into hiding. There Daisy takes on a new identity, Jade, in order to hide whilst learning her actual true identity and why it is so important that no one know who she really is. Daisy/Jade is now involved with the resistance against Gilead and is given a very important role to play.There are some other amazing characters in The Testaments apart from the three main voices of the book. Becka, whose father inappropriately touches Agnes, who defiantly slashes her wrists with gardening secateurs in an effort to avoid a marriage she does not want. Becka is taken away and speaks with Aunt Lydia, Becka then starts her training to become first a missionary and finally a full Aunt herself, taking a new name as all new Aunt recruits do, becoming Aunt Immortelle. Becka hasn’t had a very good life really and she truly believes she can make a difference and really gets on board with the idea of going on a mission. Then at the last moment she is given a different way to help and she unquestioningly does what she perceives to be needed at the time. I also loved the character of Ada, though have to admit that at one point I thought she was going to turn out to be June! I was wrong but Ada is heavily involved with the resistance.I really, really loved this book and read it fairly quickly, I seriously hated having to put it down! I approached reading The Testaments thinking that all my questions from the Handmaids Tale would be answered, some were, but after finishing The Testamants I had even more! And has made me want even more from Margaret Atwood and this series! I’m also looking forward to watching more of the Handmaids Tale, I’m thinking I will be seeing a few different angles of the story when I do. In fact, The Testaments has made me want to watch the Handmaids Tale from the beginning again. So, whether you have read Handmaids Tale or just watched it on TV I highly recommend you read this unputdownable read!