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The Handmaid's Tale

The iconic Sunday Times bestseller that inspired the hit TV series

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The Handmaid's Tale

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Amy Landecker, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford, Elisabeth Moss
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Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.

Winner of Best Audiobook (Fiction) at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020.

Read by Elisabeth Moss, star of the hit Channel 4 TV series.

** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **

Discover the dystopian novel that started a phenomenon.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford – her assigned name, Offred, means ‘of Fred’. She has only one function: to breed. If Offred refuses to enter into sexual servitude to repopulate a devastated world, she will be hanged. Yet even a repressive state cannot eradicate hope and desire.

As she recalls her pre-revolution life in flashbacks, Offred must navigate through the terrifying landscape of torture and persecution in the present day, and between two men upon which her future hangs.

'A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist' Bernadine Evaristo

‘As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it’ Guardian

©2011 O W Toad Ltd (P)2019 Penguin Audio

 Classics Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Women's Voices World Literature Scary Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

A fantastic, chilling story. And so powerfully feminist (Bernadine Evaristo, author of GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER)
Compulsively readable
Out of a narrative shadowed by terror, gleam sharp perceptions, brilliant intense images and sardonic wit
The Handmaid's Tale is both a superlative exercise in science fiction and a profoundly felt moral story (Angela Carter)
Moving, vivid and terrifying. I only hope it's not prophetic
The images of brilliant emptiness are one of the most striking aspects of this novel about totalitarian blindness...the effect is chilling
Powerful...admirable (Robert Irwin)
It's hard to believe it is 25 years since it was first published, but its freshness, its anger and its disciplined, taut prose have grown more admirable in the intervening years... Atwood's novel was an ingenious enterprise that showed, with out hysteria, the real dangers to women of closing their eyes to patriarchal oppression
Turned 25 this year and...worth re-reading. As you grow, such books grow with you
Fiercely political and bleak, yet witting and wise...this novel seems ever more vital in the present day
All stars
Most relevant
The Handmaid's Tale is one of the best books / tv shows to ever happen. The book / audiobook is excellent I just wish there were more

Can't get enough!

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... and now listening to this beautifully delivered reading by Elizabeth Moss. She paces it wonderfully. It has real grace.

Loved reading this book

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Elizabeth Moss delivers a truly outstanding performance. I read The Handmaid's Tale 20 or more years ago. Listening to this audiobook was a real treat, and allowed me to focus on the beauty of the language used by Atwood. Highly recommend.

Faultless performance

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A sinister look into a post-apocalyptic world ruled by extremist religious cultists.
Like a Christian ISIS if you like.
Great story, well written, and superbly performed, but relentlessly depressing - but in a very enjoyable way!

Gripping and compulsive

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I have previously scoffed at Audible’s insistence on calling audiobooks narrated by famous actors “performed” but Elisabeth Moss delivers what I can only describe as a flawless performance here. Wish I could give it many more stars!

Incredible Performance by Elisabeth Moss

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