Banned Book Club

A book club series where we discuss frequently challenged and/or banned books. This month we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

The Handmaid's Tale is an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction ( New York Times ) The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men in its population. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and a tour de force.” -from Goodreads.com

The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged and/or banned for profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones.

Registration required.

Thanks to the Friends of the Cheshire Public Library for sponsoring this program.