基列共和國裡,男女階級分明,父權主宰了這個社會的一切。女人被嚴苛的控制著,無法有自主的工作,不能擁有財產,依照剩餘價值被分配擔任不同職務。
「使女」是其一,她們沒有名字,不能閱讀、與人交談,被剝奪情與慾,絕不容許隱密的慾望之花有盛開之機;只是長著兩條腿的子宮,職司和社會領導者大主教交合,以便繁衍下一代。
本書記錄了一名在基列共和國時期擔任「使女」的心情故事。她馴服在權威體制裡,心靈卻自有主張,一步步挑戰禁忌......記錄的年代久遠不可考,但情節之荒誕駭人,卻熟悉莫名地叫人心驚。
這本題材及技巧上都十分「後現代」的作品,作者發揮想像力之極致,掌握時間的線性流動,是過去也是未來。細膩、深刻,在迷人的敘述中反覆辯證人與女人的價值,真實與虛構拉扯,挑戰讀者的閱讀神經。極具藝術性、思想性及可讀性。
《使女的故事》是歐美文學界推崇不已的作品,也是瑪格麗特最廣受討論之書,已被列入重要經典作品中。各大學也都有專門學者及課程研討此書。
本書中譯版《使女的故事》由天培出版。
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (The New York Times). Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss.
Look for The Testaments, the bestselling, award-winning the sequel to The Handmaid’s TaleIn Margaret Atwood’s dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead’s commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive. At once a scathing satire, an ominous warning, and a tour de force of narrative suspense, The Handmaid’s Tale is a modern classic. Includes an introduction by Margaret Atwood