The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood (Published by Houghton Mifflin)

Nominated for Best Novel in 1986

Offred is a ‘handmaid’ in the new, religious Republic of Gilead, no longer permitted to read, work at a job, or control her own body.  Her purpose is simple: bear a child to The Commander.  Their old world is not fully eradicated, however, and Offred yearns to escape.

“Funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing, The Handmaid’s Tale is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force.”