I did not expect this book to be so beautifully written. It's a story of a future America in which fertility is dismally low and women's sexuality has therefore been put under totalitarian control. That doesn't sound like a story that could be told poetically and with a reverence for language and with incredibly bittersweet little flashbacks and cultural details so familiar they sound like the reader's own life. But Margaret Atwood has done this, and i am amazed. 
 It's not a thrilling story, exactly, and i was a little disappointed by the "Historical Notes" section at the very end. But those are my only small complaints. It's a story that's so uncomfortable to read, as a woman, that i feel weird giving it five stars. But i would feel weirder giving it less than five stars. 
 I'm not sure what else to say about this one. It's strange and amazing. It was a reminder not to take for granted the freedoms that i have. Usually those reminders come in the form of history lessons, but this one was a suggestion that all the freedoms i have could conceivably be taken away in a moment. That's terrifying, but it also makes you thank your lucky stars.