The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As we already know from The Handmaid’s Tale, the theocratic regime of Gilead did fall, as the book ends with a historic symposium on the failed state. The Testaments tells us how this downfall came about. Told from three POVs: Aunt Lydia (her character beautifully layered, Atwood at her best) in the form of a manuscript holograph; Baby Nicole, now Daisy, a surly teen in Canada who infiltrates Gilead; and Agnes Jemima, the adopted daughter of Commander Kyle and his wife Tabitha, both told in the form of witness testimony.
It’s in the testimony that things can get somewhat confusing, as Atwood switches from Witness A to Witness B in the same “sub-section.” And although they Nicole and Agnes are very different people, sometimes I found it difficult to separate one from the other. In short, the wonderfully nuanced strokes that make Aunt Lydia so compelling are missing here.
The end is satisfactory, no loose ends left dangling, and throughout Atwood manages to skewer current political climate in her own inimitable fashion. All in all a good read, though in my opinion, no quite up to the standard of its predecessor. 3.5 stars.
GOODREADS RATING SYSTEM:
5: It was amazing
4: really liked it
3: liked it
2: It was okay
1: didn’t like it