I loved it! It was really great to have it to read, and I'll probably reread it soon.
I thought S1 of Handmaid's Tale, the show, was brilliant. I noped out of S2 early on and did not even bother with S3. I HAVE heard that they might be adapting Testaments, so I'm hopeful about that.
I had a variation of your reaction: Lydia was AMAZING, completely morally grey or yes, absolutely like a Le Carre long game spymaster, and I loved how absolutely every single person was a pawn in her game and how clear-eyed she was about what she did and how NO APOLOGIES she was about it all. I found Daisy sort of amusing but not that interesting, but Agnes was just not that convincing to me at all. I did like that she didn't just throw off her background, or lecture people around her on how terrible they were, but her sections felt really stiff and paltry. Her language should have been Bible-steeped and the odd quirks of someone raised in a cult -- I read the memoir by Jenna Miscavige Hill, the niece of David Miscavige, and even though she'd broken away from Scientology now and then she'd still sound like she was from another planet, even though she explained that world, because her upbringing had been so different. I did enjoy Agnes and Daisy seeing each other, often with disappointment or even anger. But Agnes's friend was really good and I loved their relationship. Altho I was a little unclear what exactly happened to her at the end.
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I thought S1 of Handmaid's Tale, the show, was brilliant. I noped out of S2 early on and did not even bother with S3. I HAVE heard that they might be adapting Testaments, so I'm hopeful about that.
I don't think Atwood succeeds with all characters on the same level. We get Lydia, Agnes (previously known under another name) who starts out as a true believer due to being raised in Gilead, and Daisy (who also has other names) who grew up in Canada in circumstances closest to current day readers. Ironically, Daisy, as a more or less normal teenager (whose actions often are either brave or stupid, it's hard to tell which one - not unusual for teens) is the least convincing of the three. Lydia, who is Atwood's own age and whose pre-Gilead life was a good one, with her being successful in her career, a judge even, until the coup shattered her world and laid bare her survival instincts that made her decide to not just live by coooperation but by forming and getting on top (as much as a woman can) of the hierarchy), is the most powerful voice, and not because of her job but because Atwood gives her a mordant wit and long-term plotting skills which reminded me of Le Carré's (inevitably male) older spy masters playing the long game. Atwood doesn't avoid the moral dimension, either; Lydia's long term goal might be beneficial to people not her, but what she does on the way to get there, and not just to survive, is horrible. As much as it's viciously satisfying to haver her outwitting people who assumed she was their tool, the novel also reminds us, via one character in particular, of the human sacrifices. (Fitting the shady spy thriller genre.)
I had a variation of your reaction: Lydia was AMAZING, completely morally grey or yes, absolutely like a Le Carre long game spymaster, and I loved how absolutely every single person was a pawn in her game and how clear-eyed she was about what she did and how NO APOLOGIES she was about it all. I found Daisy sort of amusing but not that interesting, but Agnes was just not that convincing to me at all. I did like that she didn't just throw off her background, or lecture people around her on how terrible they were, but her sections felt really stiff and paltry. Her language should have been Bible-steeped and the odd quirks of someone raised in a cult -- I read the memoir by Jenna Miscavige Hill, the niece of David Miscavige, and even though she'd broken away from Scientology now and then she'd still sound like she was from another planet, even though she explained that world, because her upbringing had been so different. I did enjoy Agnes and Daisy seeing each other, often with disappointment or even anger. But Agnes's friend was really good and I loved their relationship. Altho I was a little unclear what exactly happened to her at the end.
tl;dr At least a movie or a miniseries starring Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia please! Also I NEED the audiobook. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/ann-dowd-talks-aunt-lydias-evolution-margaret-atwoods-testaments-1240637