The Testaments by Margaret Atwood – Thoughts

Posted byPrachiPosted inBooks, UncategorizedTags:, , , ,

Book Discussion:

How did you find The Testaments in comparison to The Handmaid’s Tale? I really respect Margaret Atwood as an author and I do think she deserved the Booker Award. But I just wish she had been awarded that for The Handmaid’s Tale instead of The Testaments.

Thoughts on The Testaments:

I was debating between a 3 and a 4 star rating for the sequel for The Handmaid’s Tale. I wanted to give the book a 4 star because I was a fan of The Handmaid’s Tale and really like Margaret Atwood’s style of writing and the audiobook narration was absolutely superb. But the story..well, if I’m honest, there is nothing new to the story than what we already knew from The Handmaid’s Tale.

I felt that as Margaret Atwood herself mentions in the end credits, this book was written as an afterthought, to answer all the fan’s questions from The Handmaid’s Tale. As a dedication to the fans and readers of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Narrated by: Margaret Atwood, Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mae Whitman, Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal

The story takes a look at some pertinent questions that was in all our minds at the end of the first book. What happens to Offred? What happens to Gilead? Who started the May Day operation and who was their source? You get some pre-story too. How the first aunts came into being. How Ardua Hall came into being. I actually really enjoyed all the parts that were narrated by Aunt Lydia’s character. But other than her, I felt like the remaining characters were about average. I couldn’t feel their pain or their fear. Maybe Becca/Aunt Immortal was another exception in this regards.

I enjoyed it nevertheless, but to truly enjoy The Testaments, I think you need to read The Handmaid’s Tale first and read The Testaments as a supplementary book, to help you get some closure to the horror from the previous book.

I read both The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments on audiobook and I highly recommend it on audiobooks since I really loved all the narration by the actors, that help you really get immersed in the story which makes it very believable.

16 thoughts on “The Testaments by Margaret Atwood – Thoughts”

      2. Have you read all of his works? I’ve only read American Gods and Good Omens so far. And wondering which of his numerous books to pick up next. Any recommendations?🙂

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  4. Hello! Happy to read your thoughts about the comparison!
    I enjoyed more reading The Testaments than reading The Handmaid’s Tale. When I first read The Handmaid’s Tale I was not that much into the story, but then I also watched the TV series and I understood better the whole context. So The Testaments came at the right time for me.

    I agree that it’s best to read The Testaments as a supplementary book. I think it would not be unpleasant as a story on her own, but it makes much more sense to read it after The Handmaid’s Tale.

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    1. Thank you for your thoughts Georgiana 🙂 I haven’t watched the TV series yet, because Im really afraid to revisit the story and make it come to life. Do you think its really hard on the stomach?

      Although, I had much more respect for Aunt Lydia after reading the Testaments 🙂

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      1. Yes, the perspective on Aunt Lydia changed a lot!
        For me the TV series was not very disturbing, but here depends on lot on each of us. Maybe watching the trailer first would be useful.

        Liked by 1 person

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