The Handmaid's Tale

Stop what you are doing and go read this book.


I was serious. Go read this book, then you can come back and goof around on the internet.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a book that I've heard people rave about for years. I have this thing about dystopian books so it wasn't on the top of my list. I read it for the seasonal online challenge for the category of a Canadian author. It was a great example of how the book challenge gets you to read things you might not otherwise pick up.

The Handmaid's Tale is set in an alternate future where a conservative Christian group has taken over society and the environment has been severely degradated. The laws in society divide women up into different categories. The narrator is a handmaid whose job it is to produce children. Handmaids are not allowed to read and are only allowed out of the house once a day.

There were so many things to love about The Handmaid's Tale: the idea that such a society isn't that remote of an idea, the writing, and the ending. I won't say anything about the end, other than it was brilliant. Freaking brilliant.

This was one of the best, if not the best, books I've read this year. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

The Daughters of Juarez

Juarez, Mexico has serious crime and drug issues. It has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The Daughters of Juarez focuses on one portion of the crime in the area: the unsolved killings of young women. Over the years hundreds of women have been killed. Many of them have been raped and mutilated.

After I read the book, I felt stunned. How in the world is the government and police so corrupt that this has happened? I am appalled by what has happened. I know everything our government does isn't right, but good heavens. Hundreds of women have died and the officials in Juarez have purposely ignored the problem.

The book's writing wasn't that outstanding. I would even say it wasn't that good. But, the story itself is so unbelievable that it's worth the read. It's pretty horrifying how poor women are treated in this area of Mexico.