The Testaments

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

I had been looking at this book on my shelf.  I wanted to read it, but at the same time, I didn’t.  Once I read it, the story will be done and I just don’t want it to end.  

I loved The Handmaid’s Tale.  The story was amazing. The characters were incredible.  I started the book without really even knowing what it was about.  I had assumed historical fiction, oops, how wrong was I !?!?

Then when the Hulu TV show came out, I binge watched it.  Everything was just like I imagined in the book. The writers didn’t change anything, but they added a lot.  The TV show was a great opportunity to learn so much more about many of the characters that were just briefly mentioned (Atwood was a consulting producer of the TV show and was even in a scene or 2).  The continuing seasons were an opportunity to see what happened after the book ended.

So what about The Testaments?

The Premise: The Testaments takes place 15ish years after The Handmaid’s Tale ends.  The story continues from 3 narrators. Aunt Lydia, Agnes who has lived in Gilead her whole life and Daisy has grown up in Canada. 

We learn so much about Aunt Lydia, her background, her power and we actually learn to like her.  Agnes has never known anything else, so is often troubled and torn between what she has been taught and what she slowly learns to really be true.  Everyday life in Gilead is a true test of her belief in God. And then there’s Daisy, who has lived in Canada, but with the threat and knowledge that Gilead is just over the border.  And, take note, Gilead does not seem to be content to simply live and let live.

I did set a goal to re-read more books this year, but my To Be Re-Read list is growing way too long, as The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments have now been added!!