Testaments is one of the books I listed as wanting to read on vacation. It was a good pick! Engaging, well written, with a great plot and interesting characters, this book also answered some questions and filled in some of the back story from The Handmaid’s Tale.

The book opens with Aunt Lydia, hiding a manuscript in which she is enumerating the wrongs, sins and horrors which have occurred and continue to occur in Gilead. Why is she writing this? Isn’t she the foundation of Gilead; a true believer in the movement?

Next we hear from a witness who talks about growing up in Gilead. Daughter to one of the Commanders, she is raised in privilege and love but when her mother dies and her father remarries things begin to change quickly for the worse.

Then another transcript, this time from a witness who is growing up outside of Gilead, in Canada. On her 16th birthday she finds out she is a fraud; that her parents who died that day in a car bombing were not her real parents, and her name, Daisy, and everything she thought she knew about herself and her family was all a lie.

Intertwining these three stories, Atwood begins to add layer and layer of detail and history  to what we know about the oppressive regime of Gilead. Almost twenty years have passed since the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, political power has solidified and structural norms have become entrenched within Gilead, but there are some cracks in the facade. Girls forced into marriages they cannot stand find ways to avoid them, power held by men is being undermined subtly by women who have masterred the art of manipulation, and beyond the borders of Gilead resistance to everything that it stands for is slowly gathering its strength. Atwood builds the suspense slowly, creates interesting and unexpected characters and unexpected plot twists which makes for a very satisfying ending to one of the most prescient and cautionary tales of our time.

Brenda’s Rating: *****( 5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Everyone!

Book Study Worthy? YES

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