The Handmaid's Tale
I started The Handmaid's Tale earlier on in the week, finally finished it this morning. I had to stop regularly in my reading, as some things in it were really too... frightening, infuriating, reminding me of current events... I don't even know how to exactly describe my feeling(s) about it, which a shame for a writer. Ten years ago, I probably would've perceived it in a different way, more along the lines of "this is frightening, but can't and will never happen", yet not now. Not anymore, not when I look at what's currently happening in other parts of the world.
I'm not sure why, the bit about the "angel makers" is among the ones that shook me the most. Not even mentioning here the rest of the "theme" and the way women in it were treated, including the Wives themselves (I really got this mixed feeling of them being both respected and despised, kept in a golden cage, so to say), it's one of the parts that seriously saddened me. Here I was, reading along, then suddenly I found myself picturing the bodies on the wall and feeling terribly sorry for these men. It reminded me of a few people I've met, too; really, it's pretty weird when you can somehow relate to the matter. I must admit, it's one ofthe parts that made me cry, and this doesn't happen to me often when reading.
Yeah, it's "only a story", but it touched me so much regardless...
(Question though, for anyone who's read it, there's one thing I don't understand it in - what's a "shredder", in this context? When the Handmaids speak of the baby Angela and say "it was a shredder after all"? I know what the word means, but what I found in the dictionary doesn't mention it in a way that would make this sentence more understandable, so I'm just wondering if it has a different meaning - either one specific to the book, such as some "local" slang, or perhaps also as current slang.)
I'm not sure why, the bit about the "angel makers" is among the ones that shook me the most. Not even mentioning here the rest of the "theme" and the way women in it were treated, including the Wives themselves (I really got this mixed feeling of them being both respected and despised, kept in a golden cage, so to say), it's one of the parts that seriously saddened me. Here I was, reading along, then suddenly I found myself picturing the bodies on the wall and feeling terribly sorry for these men. It reminded me of a few people I've met, too; really, it's pretty weird when you can somehow relate to the matter. I must admit, it's one ofthe parts that made me cry, and this doesn't happen to me often when reading.
Yeah, it's "only a story", but it touched me so much regardless...
(Question though, for anyone who's read it, there's one thing I don't understand it in - what's a "shredder", in this context? When the Handmaids speak of the baby Angela and say "it was a shredder after all"? I know what the word means, but what I found in the dictionary doesn't mention it in a way that would make this sentence more understandable, so I'm just wondering if it has a different meaning - either one specific to the book, such as some "local" slang, or perhaps also as current slang.)