The Testaments
Written by Margaret Atwood
Narrated by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mae Whitman and Derek Jacobi
4.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized fans for decades.
When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, fans had no way of telling what lay ahead for her — freedom, prison, or death.
With The Testaments, the wait is over.
Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.
"Dear Readers: Everything you've ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we've been living in." (Margaret Atwood)
Editor's Note
Landmark sequel…
Margaret Atwood is one of two authors awarded the prestigious Booker Prize in 2019. Atwood won for “The Testaments,” her sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.” More than 30 years after that landmark feminist dystopia was first published, it’s time to head back to Gilead and follow three new women as they navigate the impending collapse of this dysfunctional society.
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of over fifty books, including fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, now an award-winning television series, her works include Cat’s Eye, short-listed for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; The MaddAddam Trilogy; The Heart Goes Last; Hag-Seed; The Testaments, which won the Booker Prize and was long-listed for the Giller Prize; and the poetry collection Dearly. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in Great Britain for her services to literature. She lives in Toronto.
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Reviews for The Testaments
520 ratings22 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a stellar conclusion to the dystopian republic we all loved to hate.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thank you, Margaret Atwood. Finally, questions answered, justice delivered. Thank you!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow. Fantastic follow-up to Handmaid's Take and equally well done reading.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In original story that is the sequel to the handmaid’s tale. I didn’t realize this until I was halfway through. Now I must go back and listen to the first one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still left with more questions then answers. What happened after they were rescued!?!?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Margaret Atwood at her best. This does not disappoint those looking to know what happened to Offred.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A multi-voiced well paced narrative continuing the Handmaiden’s Tale into the next generation making three younger and one older women the heroes who help drive the spike into the fatal crack in a corrupted society.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trying to not spoil the story. Great sequel to the initial book. I really liked how it picked up where it left off. I was wanting more at the end, felt a little rushed or maybe that was my wanting to stretch the story further, either way, great book. BRAVA Margaret Atwood!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brilliant storytelling and incredible reading. Could not put this down once I started!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this way more than the original, and rarely do I say that about a follow up book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written and beautifully recited. This is one of Margaret Atwood ‘s best. Highly highly recommended!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent , excellent, excellent. As usual with her work, Atwood masterfully and beautifully designed and executed this tale. I wish I had heard more from Offred, but when we finally do, it is powerful. I love Ann Dowd’s voice as Aunt Lydia (same actress from the Netflix series) Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great sequel. It answered a lot of questions I had after the first book
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing sequel, but the last chapter is very confusing. I really would have preferred hearing from Offred instead of a male professor.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great Sequel. Would love to see it added to the current series. I see us heading towards Gilead more and more each day.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5As amazing and terrifying as the Handmaid’s Tale.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed trying to discover who the readers were representing. I did not enjoy the last portion with the symposium too much. Great follow up and closure overall.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5About the structure: the text is a dialogue by itself, the reader is introduced with one character's point of view, then others etc., it plays with itself and to the reader saying - I know how all of these parts will come together. It's a nice and not misleading, it doesn't change drastically from one situation to other, but more compliments previously what's said. About the text: I love how peaceful it is, yes sometimes stressful and even sad, but there is a hope all throughout the text. The language is soothing and the reader is placed in the center of Gilead, but not to see how horrible people misinterpreted God's ideas, or how they tortured someone, but to see that Gilead meant well, just with the wrong tools. If you enjoyed the tension on Tv Series Handmaid's Tale or the book Handmaid's tale, you will enjoy this. It still does not answer everything, but the story shows the reader a new dimension. P.S. It's not 5/5 only because I would love it to be more filled with tension and stress, however I enjoyed this book and people who narrated it. Thank you!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book filled the empty cracks the first left. I wish I heard a little from june about what she had been up too over the years. I wanted to hear some about the fathers but that was irrelevant in comparison. I am so glad this book was written years later it helped me immensely understand what had happened and where lydia had come from and why she chose to be complicit in these rules and orders
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I’m a great supporter of Ms. Atwood’s works and this book is no exception. The story is perhaps even more disturbing than it might have been in previous years as it seems to be more relevant to women due to the current political climate and issues . Was disappointed when it ended. I am revisiting previously written works by Ms Atwood just to appreciate her style all over again:)
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Despite being woefully broke, I couldn't wait the few days it took, after hearing the news of The Testaments release on NPR, for scribd to post this production. This was the first print book I've bought in a very long time. This service has been more than worth the monthly subscription. Despite my bleeding wallet, I don't regret buying this book at all, on top of my subscription here. This audiobook was a gorgeous gift from Margaret Atwood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mae Whitman, Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal, and ESPECIALLY Ann Dowd. Atwood wrote the character with Dowd in mind and I hope she gets to play out the fate of her character in the future of the show. She reads it so well. There were times I felt truly spoken to, as if I were being let into the purpose of this woman's existence. This also made me contemplate Ann Dowd's career at large. She has come to such an excellent culmination in her acting and I'm sure no one but Ann Dowd could have made me empathize with Lydia as beautifully as she does. Her work is brilliant and shines in the recitation of Atwood's self-proclaimed thought experiment.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It tied up some loose ends from the first and gave perspective on the methods employed to “convince” women to go along with the Gilead scheme. Good narration too.
1 person found this helpful