Final rating: 4.5 stars. 
 As with most books I've given a higher rating, The Handmaid's Tale was both provocative and infuriating. 
 I've got very little previous experience of Science Fiction as I've found what I have tried to read, prior to this one, very "technical" and, yes, even dull, so this was a very pleasant surprise. 
 The Handmaid's Tale isn't action-packed, there are no showdowns or last stands; it does however have an increasingly intense build-up. Again, there isn't any physical action involved, it's more an increasing sense of unease. 
 I was actually recommended this book by a co-worker with the words "this book has really stayed with me since the first time I read it" and now having read it myself, I see what she meant. 
 I've already mentioned that The Handmaid's Tale's narrative is provocative, infuriating - and scary. This is something that seems like it could happen (I use "seems" as a way of trying to assure myself). 
 It is uncomfortable to realize that the society that Margaret Atwood paints so vividly really isn't that much of a stretch - she even gives an example of what event(s) might lead to such a dystopian civilization (I use this word with slight hesitance) - it being such a plausible scenario is of course part of what makes this book so terrific. 
 That which takes away "half a star" for me is the fact that the book begins rather slowly. I found the latter half a lot more interesting.