The Handmaid’s Tale

Offred works as a Handmaid in the Gilead Republic. Once a day, she may stroll to food markets from the Commander and his wife's house. Since women are no longer permitted to read, the signage at these markets are now images rather than words. Because Offred and the other Handmaids are only valuable if their ovaries are viable in an era of diminishing births, she must lay on her back once a month and hope that the Commander gets her pregnant. Offred recalls the previous years when she had a career, her own money, and access to information. She also recalls playing with and protecting her daughter, as well as living and making love with her husband, Luke. But that's all gone now.

The Handmaid's Tale is a brutal satire, frightening warning, and literary masterpiece all at once. It is funny, surprising, terrifying, and completely believable.