3.5 stars 
 I'm probably not the best reviewer of this book because I'm not really a fan of dystopian novels. But I've been meaning to read Atwood's work, and given my son's senior English class just read the book, it was already on our shelf. So I grabbed it and gave it a go. 
 Of course, the writing is wonderful, with such skillful description, I often reread passages just to savor the prose. But the story itself strained my imagination, mainly because I found it difficult to accept so much change could happen so quickly. I also wanted more detail into how the situation arose and more insight into each of the groups of this new society (the Aunts, the Econowives, the Angels, etc.). Plus, I kept waiting for something to happen to the character or one of her family members to whom she frequently refers, but that's probably more a reflection of my penchant for thrillers. I need to remind myself not every book reads like one. Still, it was a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.