164 ratings (4.15 avg)
97 reviews

Julia Kinion

Add friend

Julia’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (26)
currently-reading‎ (1)
read‎ (167)

did-not-finish‎ (9)
cried‎ (23)
book-club‎ (15)

favorites‎ (12)
school‎ (10)
annotated‎ (2)

schleps‎ (2)
chess‎ (1)

Stats | More…

Julia is Currently Reading

Julia Kinion is currently reading

The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)

by Margaret Atwood (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 6th time

read in March 2024

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Julia Kinion said: " Re-Read: "We may call Eurydice forth from the world of the dead, but we cannot make her answer; and when we turn to look at her we glimpse her for only a moment, before she slips from our grasp and flees."

I love this book! The Handmaid's Tale will al Re-Read: "We may call Eurydice forth from the world of the dead, but we cannot make her answer; and when we turn to look at her we glimpse her for only a moment, before she slips from our grasp and flees."

I love this book! The Handmaid's Tale will always be special to me! Reading it for the first time at thirteen, which is too young, as an aside, made me realize the beauty and power of the English language. I will always love the way that Atwood manipulates and breaks down language, and the way that she described things in both a precise and metaphorical manner.

I think on this read, the epilogue struck me the most. It made me understand that the totalitarian and theocratic society of Gilead does exist in places around the world. The detached and academic discussion about the suffering of other people felt reminiscent of global studies—although the educators I have had always approached the subject in a tactful manner, there is a certain level of detachment that inevitably comes with the intellectual analysis of any subject.

Original Review: "When power is scarce, a little of it is tempting."

I can't possibly articulate how special this book is to me. I read it for the first time at thirteen, and I can precisely visualize the line of demarcation it formed in my life—The Handmaid's Tale was the inception of my love of the English language. I'd adored Crime and Punishment a few months before, but The Handmaid's Tale was the specific instance where I fully conceptualized the power and transcendence of the English language. Atwood is a cruel, exacting, and surgical master of language. She captures the intellectual and literary hunger of her protagonist through Offred's deconstructive fixation of language, isolating and breaking-down individual words for their latent significance.

Especially in the contemporary sociopolitical context, I can't imagine a work more topical. The Handmaid's Tale is, and will always remain, a singularly transformative text, of which I am indescribably fond. ...more "

progress:

(page 191 of 311)
— 9 hours, 5 min ago

Dec 20, 2025 02:30PM · see review