Review of Margaret Atwood's "The Testaments"

** spoiler alert ** The Testaments was our book club’s last read for 2019. Our group’s moderator became our discussion with a central, though provocative, question: did the Handmaid’s Tale need a sequel? This sparked some debate and the group agreed that The Testaments cannot be dissociated from the narrative of its classic predecesor, written more than thirty years before. It therefore does not do well as a stand-alone book, whereas the Handmaid’s Tale still does.

That is not to say however, that The Testaments is not worth reading or that it does not add any value to the overarching story, as well as to our understanding of the society Margaret Atwood imagined three decades ago. The book’s main contributions are three-fold: first, it provides the reader with long-awaited answers on what happened with Offred, who exactly helped her and if/how she managed to escape. Second, unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, it offers different perspectives and stories of life under the Gilead regime. Finally, and related, it explores fascinating grey zones and paradoxes among individuals trying to survive under such a regime. Indeed it pushes the reader to see beyond good and evil, sometimes to the point of making the reader feel uncomfortable wondering "what would I have done, had I been in this situation ?" It echoes discussions around the dichotomy of resistance vs. collaboration/appeasement during World War II or in fact, under any tyrannical regime. This is done through the rather innovative "testaments" writing format, which walks the reader through the characters’ development and internal struggles. The sequel thus manages to remain faithful to one of the Handmaid’s Tale’s most central narrative components, while expanding it to provide different viewpoints and adding some needed interaction. That is perhaps The Testaments’ most important contribution.

This book does have a few weaknesses that are worth noting. Firstly, it falls somewhat short of the expectation that many readers had that it would provide answers and more background on the Gilead regime and how it came about. The Testaments tells part of the story of the regime’s demise but it provides limited information about its beginnings, the latter being mostly done through anecdotes about key characters and their respective back stories. Second, the last 50 pages are fast-paced, too fast-paced indeed. Our book club group was unanimous in observing and regretting that the ending felt rushed and somewhat too easy and cliché (e.g. when the two girls finally reach the coast, their welcoming party just happens to be there, though they had no way of tracking the girls' journey).

Overall, The Testaments is a well-written and entertaining story, which fills some gaps and answers questions left pending at the end of The Handmaid’s Tale. The Testaments does not operate at the same level as its prequel in terms of literary quality and the use of the dystopian genre as means to critique various facets of society. Yet it is a quick and fun read and it does add some horizontal depth in providing different characters’ perspectives and their evolution. Ultimately, The Testaments is a book worth reading. It would be unfortunate to miss out on it just because of one’s belief that The Handmaid’s Tale did not need a sequel.