anna cameron

I have just listened to the final words of the Audible audiobook of Margaret Atwood's The Testaments. I remember reading The Handmaid's Tale when it was first published years ago, and experiencing such despair at the bleak brilliance of that story. It seemed so likely that such a society was already evolving in the USA: I felt firm and sure in my decision to leave that country and have never regretted making my life in other cultures. Years passed; in another country, I saw the flawed '80's filmed version; The Handmaid's Tale was required reading at my daughter's school in the '90's; I have watched the recent series, written with Atwood's active contributions. Now, at last, Atwood has given us the "next chapters," the "what came after," June's reunion with Hannah. The audible narrated book is excellent: I was so glad to hear Atwood's own voice weaving through the narration. I believe that, together, in The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, Margaret Atwood has written a masterpiece. But, 30 years on, violence, repression and celebration of ignorance are even more prevalent in the USA: who could have predicted the events unfolding now?