Category: What I'm Reading
I’m having a little fun with a new blog series of “Teen Me Reviews” where I rehash how I felt about a book when I was a teenager and compare it to how I feel about it now as a grown up…
Teen Heather’s reaction to The Handmaid’s Tale: Oh my gawd, this book is soooooo boring! Nothing happens. Why doesn’t Offred leave? Why doesn’t Offred fight? Why isn’t this book about Moira? She’s way more interesting. Moira actually rebels and escapes and tries to resist the cruel regime. Offred does nothing except what she’s told to do. I don’t like Offred. I do not care about Offred. I do not care about how many beautiful metaphors are in this novel’s prose. Is my English teacher trying to torture me?
Dear Teen Me,
No, your English teacher is not trying to torture you, she’s just following a curriculum that dictates you learn about metaphors and similes and analogies. Would English be more interesting if the class discussed Atwood’s depiction of a dystopian patriarchal society? Sure. Would you have liked the book better if you talked about its social significance? Probably not.
Because (confession time)…