Updated 04.01.2016 
 I know, I'll sound a lot like all the other The Handmaid's Tale lovers out there, but I do have to say, 
 I just loved this book 
 . In its powerful storytelling, its hidden meanings, its blatant revealings, its fearlessness of taboos it is a book that had such a big impact on me and catapulted Margaret Atwood to the top of my list of favourite authors. 
 Espceially now, after almost a year of reading it I still think about it a lot, because, let's be honest, although our world isn't as bad os Offreds is, sometimes I just get caught in discussions with people about feminism and the rights of women and I can't help but think that their opinion isn't so far off from the opinions of the men in The Handmaid's Tale. And I'm not talking about men only, I know plenty of women that just can't seem to grasp the concept of equality. 
 The funny thing is, that just after I had finished this book, I didn't even consider adding it to my favourites, but as time passed it just kept its place in my mind popping out at me from time to time. Never has a book made me feel like this, constantly forcing me to think about it, about its story, about its unique writing style and that's why I'm updating my review. The same is happening with Oryx and Crake. I honestly didn't like the book at first, but as time passes I think more and more about it. I really value books that can do this to me, that can bug me for ages with their ideas and concepts, because I like my mindsets to be challenged! 
 These are books that made me long for the idea of having just an hour with Margaret Atwood alone and discuss all those things with her, because her brain just fascinates me! 
 So, on to the book. I do have to admit that I didn't read it, but rather listen to it on Audible, performed by Claire Danes, which was probably the best decision I made with this book. Claire had a wonderfully dull and at the same time powerful voice that just fit the character perfectly. The slight hint of sarcasm and indifference were a perfect match to the strongwilled, righteous protagonist, Offred and made the story just so much more intruiging. 
 Let's talk about Offred a little more. Since the story is told by the protagonist itself it had this sense of meta. She tends to jump from moment to moment in just a few sentences, but it never feels unorganized or chaotic, the transitions seem well planned and thought out and never created a sense of discomfort or confusion in me. There always seems to be a connection between the events that are happening, the thoughts that are going through Offreds mind and the memories she thinks of and lived through in the past. 
 I loved the characters in this book. We never get to know much about them, but so does - or rather doesn't - the protagonist. They are never depicted as the villain or the "good guy", everyone just... well, is. Everyone has their own set of mind and it's never depicted as bad or good. The reader can basically make up his own mind. And that's what makes the book so special in my opinion. The characters are of course responsible for their actions, but are their actions really decisions they made themselves or that were imprinted in their mind by the world and beliefs they live by? That is something Margaret Atwood leaves for the reader to think about. 
 And that's really a keyword for this book. It makes you think. It makes you question, it makes you argue with yourself and explore and challenge your own mindset. 
 The reader gets confronted with this new world without any explanation and has to gather the pieces together one by one, deciding how he percieves this new world and order. 
 I think Margaret Atwood did an incredible job with this book and Claire Danes did an incredible performance, yes, laugh at me all you want, but I am going to praise this book, for what it has done to me is quite unique. All in all it was one of those books were the ending left me thinking - a little disappointed - "It's over already?!" 
 I am a non-native english speaker, so please bear with the mistakes I make, I'm still learning. Thanks for reading.