The Handmaid's Tale

Yes, this book is on all the lists. Highly acclaimed. It does a great job of taking the "what if" -- in this case, what if Christian patriarchal fundamentalists took control of government and society -- and running with it. The result is a well-written and scary tale. I should leave it at that, except that it is too often also acclaimed as "prophetic," as though the US is in danger of slipping into a Gileadesque hellscape.

And this is where I part company. The existence of some fundamentalist sects does not indicate that we are anywhere near Gilead. People have very sloppy and imprecise definitions for "fundamentalist" and "evangelical," and the sociological fact is that most of these folks are like most of the rest of America -- just trying to make a living. The idea that we are anywhere CLOSE to a critical mass of American citizens -- men and women -- who would willingly abolish basic human and constitutional rights is farcical. The idea that anywhere close to a majority of people would WANT to move in this direction is just sheer lunacy.

So yes, read the book. But please don't think it represents what your church-going next door neighbor is really thinking.