No matter what genre you typically read, The Handmaid’s Tale drags you in and holds you. It forged a path for dystopian literature since, I believe, and I am certain that The Hunger Games would never have existed without it. Now I am amped to read it again!
dystopia: n. an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad
There are books that wrestle with your insides. They twist upon themselves, cramping, writhing, peristalsing until a peculiar taste rises into your mouth. It surprises you with its bitter, jagged notes…this doesn’t do it justice. The taste defies description. It is distinct, like a memory, uniquely poised to pounce on you in an unguarded moment. The years pass. The details fade. But the taste of the story you can always recall, recommending it with a shudder, discussing it with other readers in knowing, reverent susurrations. The adjectives communicating little. The tone, volumes. ‘Good’ takes on a different meaning. ‘Well-written’ means you cannot forget: Branded, as you have been, by a master misanthrope.
From my past, Animal Farm, is one such book. 1984 and Brave New World stir similarly. Seven Types of Ambiguity and Rohypnol also…
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Greetings!
I’m hopping over from GUTGAA and visiting blogs. Nice to meet you…you have a lovely blog! Good luck with GUTGAA!
Donna L Martin
http://www.donnalmartin.com
http://www.donasdays.blogspot.com
I thank you, as well, Donna. We appreciate your interest in our little blog.
–Julie
Thanks for stopping by, Donna! Going to check out your blog now!
Kristen
The Hunger Games is more of a young adult version of Stephen King’s The Running Man blended with Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery (and the basic story goes back to at least the Roman Gladiator era!).
Plot-wise, I favor The Handmaid’s Tale over any of the above.