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Place keeper while I work out the review. If you want to study where we are as a society with respect to the touchstones I would recommend adding this book to your stack of resources.

The book keeps getting better and better and the writing doesn't suck.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book at all. The writing is actually good and there are many exceptional quotes in the first three chapters. The introduction was frustrating for me to get through. I am currently completely disappointed with where we are as Americans, bickering about pronouns when we should be talking about how we come out of Covid 19 a world power.

Atwood's style of writing is agreeable to me but it gets weird when her writing turns into something from a cheap romance novel when Nick and Offred steal a few minutes alone and try to bring meaning to their own lives.

. . . The other half is fighting just as vehemently to retain the existing laws and requirements that all refugees be documented and processed before being freely admitted into the US where they can assimilate into the country and work towards being productive citizens. Could the US have been in a similar state prior to the transformation to The Republic of Gilead?

As I read Atwood's dystopian satire I can't help but compare the situation in the story with current affairs in the United States where the future of the country hangs in the balance as half the citizens fight vehemently to make the US a place where all refugees can escape to and receive free or low cost housing, healthcare, education and food and to have a say in the laws that govern the country.

I've been watching the Hulu TV series and decided to read the book to be able to know if the series adequately captures the tone and meaning Atwood created. Understandably the book is darker than the TV show. I'm not sure a darker TV show would find an adequate audience. Offred's mind is a mixture of anger, acceptance, wonder and horror at what life has become for 51 percent of the population.

Review to follow.

I just found out that this book is part of a planned trilogy. I started the series with tis book and it doesn't seem like you need to have read the first in the series to understand what's going on although there are a few ideas that are mentioned and not developed and so I assume they are developed in the first of the series. The writing is classic Card, characters drive the story and are well developed.

Classic Moore. I'm reading as fast as I can.

Hope the ghosts don't mess up the story by popping in during the good parts.

Picked this up at the Nez Perce National Monument outside Lewiston Idaho. I've been interested in Indian religion and folklore since I was a kid and this book was recommended by the park ranger.

I picked this up at Olympia National Park. My family and I have visited over 45 of the National Parks and I thought this book of short stories as recounted by park employees and volunteers would help me to re-live the experience I had while visiting the park that's highlighted in the stories. I've loved many of the parks and my expectations are high for this book.

Live Hard, Die Young!

The second half of the book is better than the first if you can believe it. I have a feeling this story is going to stick with me for a while, like gum does when you swallow it!

This is nuts! The drug world might seem like fun and games for a while, but eventually it will kill you. Deciding to take drugs is like deciding to step off the curb in front of a speeding truck in that the ending is predictable and isn't pretty!

This book is a hot mess. At this point it seems something like Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad but set in the 70's hippie culture.

Another excellent and weird book by Dick.

I understand the mixed reviews on this one now. I wonder if a sequel was intended.

While reading the series I couldn't get the idea out of my mind that the factions were much like religions with those dedicated to one having little to no tolerance for those that were part of another with these differences ultimately resulting in war.

WOW! This story is much better than I expected. I can't help but consider that it's not really too far from the way things are today with all the normalization and political correctness.

The final line in the novel echoed in my mind. Perfect way to end a trilogy.

Loved the ending. This series is a perfect example of how a trilogy should be written. The first book introduces the story and the characters, the second lays out the story and develops the characters and the third provides the conclusion and ties up the loose ends. Brilliant!

Finished and waiting to complete until I can post a review. Better than the first and in fact makes the first seem like a prelude to this story.

Ah, so that's what happens after the faction wars.

Ended so much better than the movie. Glad to start Book 2 of the series without the images of a movie in my head.

DON'T judge this book by it's movie!