Notes on The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Despite having read and enjoyed (albeit moderately) Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, I was hesitant to pick up it's sister novel, The Testaments, as it's predecessor was thought to be a one-off-- and, as we all know to be the case, sequels never measure up to the original, especially if the original was seemingly written to stand alone. With that being said, with how slowly the hype that surrounded the book withered, I decided to give it a go; this ended up being a good decision!

The Testaments not only compliments A Handmaid's Tale, the narrative (or rather, collection of narratives) satisfyingly completes the story with -- more or less -- a happy ending.

With this pair of novels, Atwood so comprehensively develops each character and their varying roles in Gilead. There's not a single moment of personality or plot incoherence. I didn't find myself wanting to befriend any characters as I sometimes do with other books, which is a different but equally appreciated sort of bond I can have with literature, but instead I was absolutely rooting for their success on each of their vastly different life paths. I was an incredibly engaged audience member cheering for all these amazingly complex and dynamic women. Even though these ladies were given vastly differing societal roles in their respective communities, each was as heroic as the next.

I find this work magnificent for the woman reader, but also I wish to have had the opportunity to read it in school to hear the opinion of the story from the point of view of other genders, especially given the fact that the claiming of a gender or a lack thereof inherently changes the human experience. 5/5 stars. A lovely piece with a great pace.