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The Testaments
- Narrated by: Bryce Dallas Howard, Ann Dowd, Mae Whitman, Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal, Margaret Atwood
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
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The Testaments
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Winner of the Booker Prize 2019.
The British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year 2020
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood is read by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard and Mae Whitman with Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal and Margaret Atwood.
Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid's Tale, is a modern classic. Now she brings the iconic story to a dramatic conclusion in this riveting sequel.
More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results.
Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets.
As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.
'Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in.' Margaret Atwood
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- HistoryLover
- 13-09-19
Remarkable! Oddly Uplifting
I listened to this audio book in three long sittings because I simply couldn’t stop. Like a train on a track the narrative of this book steams ahead, growing in power and momentum. It is impossible to stop, once started.
I, like many others, found THE HANDMAID’S TALE to be one of the most important books of the C20th & as a professional historian I’ve often dwelt on how the Past & present converge in the story. So I was keen to read the much anticipated sequel - having watched all three seasons of the HULU TV production too I wanted to know if there would be any nod towards the storylines crafted there. There is. Big time.
In many respects THE TESTAMENTS is a world apart from THE HANDMAID’S TALE. It is far less claustrophobic, less ‘bitty’, less surreal. It is also less doomed, less gloomy, less violent. In fact THE TESTAMENTS is oddly, fascinatingly upbeat. It is a paean to the #MeToo movement, an empowering story of fighting the system.
The historian in me was satisfied: I got a good sense of the expansion and crisis of the mature Gileadaean regime and the use of Historical Notes to close the book - echoing THE HANDMAID’S TALE - was very satisfying.
As an audio book, this is a wonderful production. Each of the three protagonists is played well, but a special notice goes to Ann Dowd, reprising her TV role as Aunt Lydia. Her voice has such melody, such an incredible cadence that it was quite hypnotic. Atwood gives Aunt Lydia some very funny, tongue-in-cheek lines; Ann Dowd delivers them to perfection.
I enjoyed this book enormously. I recommend it as a clear classic of our time.
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50 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Purpleheart
- 11-09-19
Totally engrossing
I read the novel and then started listening to this wonderful production which has a very short introduction by Margaret Atwood. The voices and pacing is perfect and really helped my understanding of this totally engrossing novel.
Margaret Atwood's sequel to the prescient 'The Handmaid's Tale' opens with one of the new novel's three narrators describing the statue made in her honour. We're not told immediately that it is Aunt Lydia but it becomes clear - her voice is compelling and her importance and power in Gilead is surprising but completely believable. One of the strengths of this novel is that Aunt Lydia isn't a Disney villain - how she came to be who she is in The Testaments gives complexity to her character and motivation. Atwood is exploring the women who are complicit in maintaining Gilead's patriarchy and the subjugation and oppression of other women. It's a fascinating and enthralling route for Atwood to take and once again she captures the zeitgeist - reflecting back to us the myriad ways in which this type of complicity and collaboration happens in our own world. The two other narrators are young - Agnes Jemima, the daughter of a Commander and Daisy, a teenager living in Toronto. It's not spelt out if the young women are related to characters from The Handmaid's Tale. Atwood likes to let readers make up their own minds. Her trust in her readers is yet another of her strengths as, of course, is her writing. This novel speeds along like a thriller and the prose is clarity itself.
I found this novel unputdownable and am sure it will live with me for a good time to come. Margaret Atwood is my favourite writer and I read The Handmaid's Tale when it was published in 1985 and have read all her novels over the years since. I was worried about her revisiting such a masterful work since the continuation of the TV show didn't sit so well with me but Atwood's return to Gilead using the voices of these characters works beautifully to broaden and deepen our understanding of the whole structure and gives some insight into why it might fail.
I was lucky enough to have tickets to see Margaret Atwood at the National Theatre for an exploration of this novel. She speaks as well as she writes.
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22 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stirzaker Photography
- 16-09-19
2nd listening
Just heard this for 2nd time, one of my favourite books , so good and tense.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs Cathy
- 16-12-19
Just a bit silly, got worse as it went on
It was all just a bit silly and unbelievable. The Handmaid's Tale was devastating, raw, 'speculative fiction' because Offred and her world felt like they could be real. This was mostly just silly apart from Aunt Lydia's parts. It got worse and more ridiculous as it went on.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ms L Holden
- 11-09-19
Couldn't stop listening
Well worth the wait. Margaret Atwood continues to display her brilliant ability to somehow instill a combination of passion, disgust, fear and admiration into the reader. Aunt Lydia's story and character was fascinating and inspiring.
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10 people found this helpful
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- kim hailstone
- 12-09-19
Brilliant! Couldn’t stop listening .
The Testaments is really compelling and the narrators are all excellent. The book gives a terrifying view into Gilead 30 years after the events in The Handmaid’s tale. I didn’t expect Aunt Lydia as one of the protagonists ,and was torn between horror and fascination at her story. The other characters are equally fascinating. One of the best audio books I’ve listened to.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Emma
- 10-09-19
amazing
as a lover of the first book, I found this book equal as good. it has lived up to it promise of answering many questions, however I am left with few to which I hope the show will answer. this is a must buy, I have truly enjoyed this book, I finished it with in a day.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- kindle
- 15-09-19
A stunning sequel to a beloved tale
The inclusion of the voice of The actor who plays Aunt Lydia in the current TV series brought a strong modern connection. As an avid fan/viewer, I enjoyed the fact that Margaret Atwood has woven the end of the tale in such a clever way, so as to still leave plenty of room for the intervening tale to still be told.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- little egret
- 14-09-19
Does not disappoint
This sequel is so much better than the awful series 2 of the television adaptation(although we have to thank series 1, which was good, for widening the interest in the story). It was so good that Anne Dowd was such a major part of this audiobook as she remained great throughout the television adaptation. Great audiobook!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dog lady
- 13-09-19
Just brilliant!
Loved the hand maids tale and this was a brilliant follow on from that! Couldn’t stop listening
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 27-05-20
Exceptional
The story and the performance were exceptional. I couldn't stop listening and recommend the book for anyone who loved The Hand maid's Tale. You should definitely read the first book for context, but the book could stand alone.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ruth
- 15-10-19
The more you read the more places you will go!!!!
I loved that they used actors from the series to play the parts- it did set me back! I love Margaret ability yo infiltrate many story lines together, I could see this coming!!!! In saying that I couldn’t put it down - can’t wait for series four!!!! See how much it will align with the testaments!!!!
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- Joanna
- 06-10-19
For all of those who want to find out what happens next.
Having recently reread The Handmaid’s Tale to refresh my memories of the story, I was eager to find out what happened next. Although told from different perspectives, the novel was an excellent response to all of my questions. I enjoyed the three points of view, as they complimented each other beautifully and allow readers to see this world from a variety of perspectives. The narrators read beautifully (I could listen to Ann Dowd, in particular, all day) and, although i have yet to watch the series, interesting to note which elements from there have become cannon in the book world. A fantastic performance by all involved and, as ever, beautiful writing by Margaret Atwood.
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2 people found this helpful
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- S. Hancox
- 13-09-19
Best ever sequel to a favourite book.
Have been waiting for this sequel since I first read The Handmaid’s Tale when it came out in the 80s. I was not disappointed. This is a spellbinding book, with wonderful voice performances, especially that of Ann Dowd. I will listen again!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tim
- 21-09-19
worth the wait
worth the wait. As an audio book this is a pure, performance, delight. Buy it now
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lauren
- 21-02-23
Loved it!
So we’ll thought out and answers many questions relating to the aftermath of the Handsmaid’s Tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrated performances were excellent.
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- m.a. van den bogaard
- 02-02-23
Great sequel and narration
The Testaments is a worthy sequel to the Handmaids Tale. Great narration by reputable actors
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- Anonymous User
- 20-06-22
The Testaments
I loved this book and the reading of it, I went into a kind of mourning when I finished it, I enjoyed it so much. I'm fascinated by the tools employed by all repressive regimes, cults, religions or systems and the methods used are always so similar. I'm also struck at how often women and girls are the objects of repression, often in the name of culture or religion! Together with The Handmaids Tale, this book is as valuable a commentary on repression as Animal Farm and should be regarded as an equal icon in social English literature
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- Alexandra De Canha
- 04-05-22
Outstanding
So many of my questions have been answered. This book was captivating from the outset and I could not stop listening. The performances were excellent and the storyline was riveting. Highly recommended!
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- Anonymous User
- 26-11-21
Fantastic
Loved the Handmaid's tale and was so excited when the Testaments came out! It was so interesting to hear the different povs of them! The narrators were so great as well!
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