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Margaret Attwood: The Testaments - Book 2 The Handmaid's Tale

I was frustrated with the ending of The Handmaid's Tale and saw that there was a sequel, so I wondered if it would answer some of the questions that I had.

The Testaments, book two in Margaret Attwood's series covers a time period after Offred (from The Handmaid's Tale) left Gilead. It follows the story of two girls: one that lives in Gilead, and the other that lives in Canada. The girl that lives in Gilead was from a wealthy family. She ends up deciding to become an Aunt - the teachers of the girls in Gilead, and the defining body of women's roles and expectations of society. They make the rules for the girls and keep the records of who people really are. They also send missionaries to Canada. The other girl is from Canada. She lives with a couple who own a second-hand store. They are killed one day in an explosion that sparks the whole action of her story. She is eventually sent to Gilead to join the Aunts as well (with the Gilead missionaries), and the two stories intertwine. Will they find out who they really are, and escape Gilead?

In all, I liked this book much better than I liked The Handmaid's Tale. The storytelling was more straightforward and lacked the stream-of-consciousness aspect that Offred's story seemed to have. I also enjoyed the intrigue and the intensity of the two stories, as well as Aunt Lydia's story, though I did feel as if her perspective was a little altered from the depiction of her in Offred's telling.

I still didn't like the ending of this book. While it answered many questions I had about The Handmaid's Tale, it also still left substantial gaps that the epilogue only partially answers. I truly wanted to know if the two girls were Offred's daughters, and have that final answer. Does Offred get back with her husband from before Gilead? Do they end up being able to be happy? No one knows because the books refuse to answer these critical questions. While not all stories need to end up as happy perfection, I would have liked some more answers to seemingly major plot points, instead of them being left wide open.

Overall, I rate this book:
  • 4/5 Stars
  • PG-13 - some violence, discussion of suicide and self-injury, and sexual abuse.


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