The Handmaid's Tale

[Leighton]

Is anyone watching?  I haven't read the novel (it's on the pile!), but I'm finding the series quite gripping!

[Vera Charles]

Is anyone watching?  I haven't read the novel (it's on the pile!), but I'm finding the series quite gripping!

@Leighton I struggled to get into the novel - tried several times, but I just don't get on with Atwood. As a result, had no interest in the television adaptation and it clashes (I think) with The Loch, which I'm rather enjoying

[Chris L]

Is anyone watching?  I haven't read the novel (it's on the pile!), but I'm finding the series quite gripping!

@Leighton I struggled to get into the novel - tried several times, but I just don't get on with Atwood. As a result, had no interest in the television adaptation and it clashes (I think) with The Loch, which I'm rather enjoying

I have the same problem with Atwood. I've tried reading at least three of her novels and have never gotten past the first third of any. I gather the series is better than the book, though I haven't watched it yet either.

[JustTheOneAnne]

I read the book in college in like two sittings, but didn't remember a lot when I started watching the series--which I think was the way to go. I had the basic outline in my head already, but none of the details.

I think the performances are incredible. I have no idea where they're going to take the next two seasons but it will be worth it to see more of this fantastic work from the likes of Elisabeth Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley and OMG ANN DOWD.

[Chris L]

We've started watching and are about three episodes in. The show is incredibly intense, with a score that can be almost nerve jangling at times and some genuinely scary performances, both from the good guys and the bad guys. Amy's scared that we actually may be headed toward a world like this, but I promised I wouldn't talk politics, so I won't push that any further.

The most frightening thing, as Amy has noted, is that on many levels it's a feasible solution to the infertility plague that the show (and Atwood) postulates. Obviously other countries have come up with different solutions, because the show has noted in passing that some people have managed to flee to other places, like Atwood's own Canada, to get away from the Theocratic takeover, but it makes sense that a country with such a militant religious sector as the U.S has might find a solution like this.

I'm enjoying the show a great deal more than I enjoyed what little I read of the novel, though now I'm tempted to go back and start reading the book. If I get all the way through it, that will be a first for me as far as Atwood's novels are concerned.

[mrssondheim]

I loved the series!  The performances were extraordinary. Can't wait for season 2!