THE TESTAMENTS | MARGARET ATWOOD

9 November 2019

Knowledge is power and History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

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This book has been everywhere, fronts of bookshops, adverts on social media, from twitter, Facebook and Instagram, there was no hiding from the marketing strategies for its release. Usually the hype puts me off reading certain books, I just don’t like the idea of being prodded to read something, if I want to read it, I will. However, I had read the Handmaid’s Tale when I was younger and throughly enjoyed it, and so was highly anticipating it’s sequel. Shortly after its release, Atwood received a joint award with Bernardine Evaristo – author of, Girl, Woman, Other (another one on my to read list). This award attracted much controversy, some saying that Atwood’s novel was not deserving of it, and that the award was given to her for the sentiment of what The Handmaid’s Tale had achieved, and not necessarily for the quality of The Testaments.

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With that being said, and the hype and controversy put to one side, I actually enjoyed this read, but not as much as The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel is set in Gilead, fifty years or so, after The Handmaid’s Tale, and mainly focusses on how Gilead as a society was created and how it has evolved. Atwood expands on the rigid structures of hierarchy in a so called ‘theonomy’ , but also discusses the ideas of hypocrisy and corruption through three different narrators, whereas The Handmaid’s Tale has a predominant focus on sexual violence, and the single lived experience of Offred as a handmaid. The three points of view of Aunt Lydia, Agnes and Nicole, made for a multifaceted narrative and made the plot more interesting as you are able to read how their individual chronicles intertwine. Not very much actually occurs in the plot, and at times it seemed quite slow moving, but Atwood successfully expands on the societal structures and the inevitable breakdown of Gilead as a society (not sure if that is a spoiler or not), and the movement of an underground revolution against the regime.

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Overall, many of the reviews I have read or heard seem to be unanimous about the book relating to the television series, and some even suggesting, too much so, for source material. I don’t really know how I feel about the autocracy of the author in situations such as book to screen adaptations, in terms of how much they should or should not be bowing down to TV producers. Though I do stand quite biased and admittedly quite uninformed about the series seeing as I have only seen the first episode. But perhaps this is the direction book to screen adaptations are taking, the literary and the visual creators and creations becoming more and more interwoven, working together to create a shared world. On the whole I would recommend The Testaments for anyone who enjoyed reading The Handmaid’s Tale, carrying on from The Handmaid’s Tale’s implied social commentary on the role of women in society, I would say The Testaments is definitely more hopeful, making it a worthwhile companion to the challenge of its prequel.

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Rating: 7/10