The Testaments

I'm not going to spend too much time on The Testaments, Margaret Atwood's follow-up to The Handmaid's Tale. I do think it's a competent and well-written modern novel. The story arc is well established and the characters fill their roles with ease. It gives an adequate conclusion(?) to the story of Gilead, although I don't know that it was a necessary addition to the story. It answers some questions, but I question whether these answers will hold the long-term value their secrecy held for the last three decades.

Outside of necessity, I think the biggest critique I have is simply that it lacks the exceptionally riveting atmosphere of The Handmaid's Tale. We've been shown the world as perceived by a Handmaid, now we're given the world through the eyes of an Aunt, a Daughter, and an Outsider. These characters give us a more full view of the world of Gilead, but they've all been given access to a larger view than “Offred” was ever given. The blinders placed on handmaids was a large part of what made Gilead so haunting. Now we're privy to the bigger picture and things don't seem so out-of-control and hopeless. The rest of the world goes on. It's not really all that different from the world we've all lived in our entire lives.