The Handmaid's Tale

I really expected to like this more than I did. I understand the purpose of the writing style, and it communicates a dreaminess that Offred experiences, fading in and out of reality and time as a trauma response, but it almost feels too vague at points. The lack of quotation marks is hard to follow in some places. The “historical notes” at the end feel superfluous, although read as a commentary on academic detachment from atrocities, especially those perpetrated by white men it's interesting. Not sure that's how it's intended though. I'd still recommend reading it, if only because of its place in SpecFic and feminist canon.