First thing first – I preferred ‘The Testaments’ to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Yes I know, controversial view. Plus, it’s not every day when someone prefers the sequel.
Honestly, the characters portrayed in ‘The Testaments’ were just remarkable. Each narrative showed strength in more ways than you can imagine all together causing the topple of Gilead.
It is clear that just like the first novel the reader has happened to find historical records of the Gilead society. The historical records include three narratives based around the lives of the Aunts who take residence in the untouchable Ardua Hall, (I mean not even The Eyes are allowed in here). What I liked about the narratives is not only the fact that stories interlaced with each other to form one definitive ending but rather how each story had it’s own voice and point of view which was very stark and different to what I have normally read. I empathised with each one and I felt whatever emotion they were feeling during certain points of their experience.
The clock ticks, the minutes pass. I wait. I wait.
Fly well, my messengers, my silver doves, my destroying angels.
Land safely.
Ardua Hall – One of the three narratives
This is the narrative of the very famous Aunt Lydia who we have met in the first book. The word Ardua on the other hand, comes from the Latin Phrase per ardua ad astra, which means through adversity to the stars. I think this phrase sums up this narrative pretty well. Aunt Lydia was a lawyer pre Gilead and a successful one at that, one who gave no …. (I think you know what I was going to say there). When Gilead came into power that was stripped from her, she had to learn pretty quickly how to become submissive to a extreme patriarchal society and even though she is up in the ranks as we find, she still has to come second to the male commanders. Her ideas are used as their own, and to them she is just a pawn who is easily replaceable. By the end Aunt Lydia has had enough and her plan which has been meticulously formed over a number of years can suddenly come into action thanks to the other two narratives.
Will I recommend this?
Frankly, Yes I would. I would give this book four stars if not five. I think everything was brilliant and the way the ending had been craftily curated was spellbinding. Your relationship with each character comes with it’s own complexities, there were times I wanted to shake someone’s shoulders, shouting ‘how can you not see you have been indoctrinated?!’ There were times I also empathised with each character and personally felt the hardships that they were faced with. What I also like is that each narrative was so different from the other and you found yourself waiting to read the next chapter of their own stories.
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Mishelle Thurai 