#2 The Handmaid's Tale - Nobody is above quotation marks...

...and Atwood would to well to remember that.

Book: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Pages: 295
Pages Read: 1-172 + 20ish at random
Entertainment Rating: 1.5/5
Snooty Rating: 1.5/5
Total Rating: 3/10
Books Read Total: 2/50
Pages Read Total: 448/15000

I kept reading this book because I was determined to stick it out until something happened. The first half was so unbearably monotonous that I figured there must be some really great twist in the second half. The story did begin to pick up a bit as I crossed the half-way point, but by then I wanted nothing more for the characters than a swift kick in the ass for being so boring. The dream scenes were bland and emotionless, offering no solace from the monotone droning of Atwood's writing. Her topic should have evoked rage and passion in me, but try as I might I couldn't feel anything but resentment towards the characters, and even then it was only because I felt they were wasting my time. Truly the only reason I'm giving her ratings at all is because she wrote a book and somehow got it published, which I suppose deserves some recognition. Perhaps her publishers will reimburse me for my time wasted.

My next book was going to be Atwood's Alias Grace but now I'm not sure. Has anyone read it? How do the two compare?