The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

 

This is the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, and is set 15 or 16 years after the end of the Handmaid's Tale. We meet three narrators - two young girls and one old and familiar woman - Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia is, as one would know if you had read the book or seen the show, the head "gender norm" enforcer who, behind her demeanor of anything for Gilead, actually is pretty pissed at the country. We learn about her backstory and how she became an aunt - a truly horrifying story of murder and torture. 

This novel, like The Handmaid's Tale, styles itself as a primary source - with chapters alternating between a written manifesto of sorts and witness testimony. There are three people involved - Aunt Lydia and two young women (one who grew up in Gilead and the other in Canada). Unlike The Handmaid's Tale, which chronicles a life of horrifically enforced passivity, The Testaments is about action. It's less speculative and dystopian and more of a mystery/action story. I actually preferred Handmaid's Tale because I liked the depth of the character of Offred and wondering what motivated people fascinated me.  I think that Atwood wrote this book to actually dovetail with the series and intended it to be read in conjunction with watching the Hulu TV series. What I did appreciate was learning more about Aunt Lydia - but it was because I learned about her motivations and reasons for her collaboration and about her backstory.  I enjoyed learning about her immensely because I had so reviled her in the first installment. 

Having said that, I'm still glad that I read this novel but I wouldn't run to get it again.