The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Set in a dystopian future, this novel presents a society where women are stripped of their rights and are classified into various roles based on their fertility and societal status. The protagonist is a handmaid, a class of women used solely for their reproductive capabilities by the ruling class. The story is a chilling exploration of the extreme end of misogyny, where women are reduced to their biological functions, and a critique of religious fundamentalism.
The 132nd greatest book of all time
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- Published
- 1985
- Nationality
- Canadian
- Length
- Medium
- Pages
- 300-400
- Original Language
- English
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.0)
- Alternate Titles
-
- A História De Uma Serva
- A Szolgálólány Meséje
- Der Report Der Magd
- Der Report der Magd
- El Cuento De La Criada
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This book is on the following 74 lists:
- 3rd on The new modern classics — the nation’s favourite 20th century novels (The Times)
- 6th on PEOPLE Picks the Best Books From the 1980s (PEOPLE Magazine)
- 8th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 11th on 50 Best-Loved Novels Written by a Woman (United Kingdom) (Guardian)
- 11th on Waterstones' Top 25 Books of the Last 25 Years (2007) (Bookstandard (wayback machine))
- 12th on The 50 best books of the past 100 years (The Times)
- 13th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 16th on The 100 Stories that Shaped the World (BBC)
- 16th on The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 (Entertainment Weekly)
- 17th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
- 19th on 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors (Good Housekeeping)
- 20th on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 22nd on Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books (NPR)
- 29th on Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels (Entertainment Weekly)
- 35th on America’s 100 Favorite Books (WordsRated)
- 36th on Books Of The Century (Library Journal)
- 36th on The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English (The Guardian)
- 41st on Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time (Guardian)
- 46th on Top 100 World Literature Titles (Perfection Learning)
- 53rd on Edmonton's Top 100 (Edmonton Journal)
- 53rd on The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Readers' List (The Modern Library)
- 53rd on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 57th on Top 100 Books, As Chosen By Canadians (The Gazette(Newspaper))
- 58th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 65th on Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories (NPR)
- 71st on The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (Bookman.com)
- 82nd on The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present (Yedioth Ahronoth)
- 94th on 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers (Penguin (UK))
- 114th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 131st on The Big Read (BBC)
- 164th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Best Political Books (Guardian)
- 100 Books, 100 Companions (Zeit Online)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (UK))
- 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die (BBC Radio Oxford)
- 100 novels that make you proud to be Canadian (CBC Books)
- 125 Books We Love for Adults (NY Public Library)
- 150 Great Reads (The Spokesman-Review Spokane Chronicle )
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 25 Books to Read Before You Die (Powell's Books)
- 25 Books to Read Before You Turn 25 (The Guardian)
- 40 Essential Feminist Books to Read for Women's History Month (Harpers Bazaar)
- 500 Must Read Books (The Daily Telegraph)
- 501 Must-Read Books (LibraryThing)
- 50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors (Orange Prize for Fiction)
- 50 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels That Everyone Should Read (Flavor Wire)
- 70 Classic Booker Prize-Nominated Novels, Recommended by our Readers (Booker Prize Library Readers)
- 87 Books Written by Women That Are So Good, You Won't Be Able to Put Them Down (Pop Sugar)
- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life (The Daily Mail)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award (Arthur C. Clarke Award)
- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat (Book by Luiz Carlos Lisboa)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- Laila Lalami's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" ( The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Book))
- Latitude Festival's Top 20 Books by Women (Latitude Festival goers)
- NY Times Editors Choice 1980-1989 (NY Times)
- Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- The 100 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time (Tor)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 (Flavor Wire)
- The Best Of The 1980s (Sun-News)
- The Big Jubilee Read (BBC)
- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years (BookList)
- The Books You've Always Meant to Read (Waterstones)
- The Great American Read (PBS)
- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century (New York Public Library)
- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities (XLSemanal and Zenda)
- The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time (Refinery29)
- #ThisBook (#ThisBook)
- Top 100 Books (Lincoln Journal Star)
- Top Books Recommended on Cambridge Reading Lists (Oxbridge)