The Testaments book review

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Published by Nan A. Talese on September 10, 2019
Pages: 422
Goodreads

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades. When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, readers 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 fifteen 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

I was a big fan of The Handmaid’s Tale when I read it a little while ago, I actually reread it ready to read this one, and I am so glad I did, I enjoyed it more and it actually set me up to read The Testaments in a better way. I have to say that The Testaments is one of my favourite reads of the year, I really loved learning about the different characters and their part in Gilead, I think they all offered a completely different insight into the world that we had read about in the first one. This story is a little bit more linear and therefore a little easier to follow and I loved that about the story, my only complaint was that some of the later chapters lost the ease of writing for me and became a little forced.

Within The Testaments we get a more indepth knowledge into three very different characters, and I have to say this is wher the book really performed in my opinion, we get to see Aunt Lydia in a different light and we learn new things about the country of Gilead all the way through the story through these characters point of view. I loved the way that they all complimented each other and they all had a very separate way of telling their story. My favourite character without a doubt is Aunt Lydia, I think she makes this book her own and although the other two are interesting she is really what makes this book shine above all else.

The best bits of The Testaments for me as a reader was learning more about the creation of Gilead and how they managed to recruit the others to take part. I cried my eyes out at the parts where it talked about the cruelty they had to endure and how they were manipulated and brainwashed into becoming what they wanted. It was a really well thought out part of the book and I think it added so much more insight into the story and the people in it. I also really enjoyed the viewpoint from the outside, it was interesting to me to see how the world had been reacting to everything that was happening and the wars that were taking place. It was a great way of setting out the novel and I really enjoyed that aspect.

Would it be a surprise to anyone that I would say that actually I have very little if any complaints about this book, the only thing I would have liked to see changed would be the ending. I think it was a little rushed and I thought that some of the communication came off as being a little stale and underwhelming compared to the other parts of the book.

I would definitely recommend The Testaments, it is one of my favourite books of the year and I am really glad that I ended up picking it up! I loved the characters and the fact that it read more linearly than the other, it made me enjoy it more.

Have you read any of the Booker Prize Shortlist? Which were your favourites? Let me know!