Books

Margaret Atwood Unveils Sequel of The Handmaid’s Tales

Margaret Atwood who rose to fame with her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tales finally unveiled the sequel of her book on Tuesday, September 10, in London. Hundreds of fans gathered as the 79-year old novelist read the excerpts from her book The Testament.

Based on an era 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tales, the story revolves around fictional country Gilead (a reference for the U.S) where the few remaining fertile women are forced into reproductive services to save the humanity. The last time Margaret’s book came out it became an emblem of 80s struggle of feminism, and this time around the author feels the preemptive need is similar.

Read More : Amazon Mistakenly Releases Handmaid’s Tales Sequel Ahead of Launch

“For years and years people were saying will there be a sequel, please write a sequel, tell us what happened, and I always said I can’t do that,” said Margaret as she spoke to BBC, post the book launch.

“But then a couple of things happened. Instead of going away from Gilead as I thought had been happening in the 1990s, we started going back towards Gilead in a number of places in the world including the United States,” added the writer whose 1985 book was adapted into a television series in 2017.

The television show not only reclaimed the past glory of The Handmaid’s Tales but also became a highly relatable subject for the feminists of the new world order.

“It’s very accurate with what’s going (on) at the moment, where the world is heading and that’s kind of scary,” said 27-year-old Melisa Kumas, present at the book launch.

The Testaments has already made it to English language’s most prestigious book award Booker Prize 2019, and had become a talk of the town right before its official release.

“Thirty-five years is a long time to think about possible answers, and the answers have changed as society itself has changed,” wrote Margaret in the novel’s acknowledgments as she set the premise for a totalitarian society.

Aisha Arshad

Recent Posts

  • Latest News

PTI rejects the Commission of Inquiry constituted to probe the contents of the judges’ letter

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected the formation of an inquiry commission by the federal government…

15 hours ago
  • Celebrity News

Did Agha Ali confirm his separation by revealing he is living alone? Netizens think so

Did Agha Ali confirm his separation from Hina Altaf by revealing that he is living…

15 hours ago
  • Celebrity News

Sahiba finally meets her biological father for the first time in her life

Sahiba has met her biological father for the first time in her life! The emotional…

16 hours ago
  • Bollywood News

Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth are now engaged!

Bollywood actors Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth are engaged! As reported, Aditi Rao Hydari and…

16 hours ago
  • Latest News

KSE-100 index hits new all-time high of 67,142 points

The KSE-100 index hits a new all-time high of 67,142 points on Thursday. The Pakistan…

23 hours ago
  • Latest News

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake jolts northern areas of Pakistan

A magnitude 5,3 earthquake jolted northern areas of Pakistan on Thursday at around 4 pm.…

23 hours ago