The Vegetarian
BY HAN KANG
AUTHOR : A South Korean writer , Han Kang has won the Man Booker International Prize , Korean Novel Award and Malaparte Prize . She is also a poet and musician .
The Handmaid ’ s Tale
BY MARGARET ATWOOD
AUTHOR : A Canadian poet , novelist , literary critic , essayist , inventor , and environmental activist , Margaret Atwood ’ s work has been published in more than 35 countries . Her work has received honors including the Arthur C . Clarke Award , Prince of Asturias Award for Literature , Peace Prize of the German Book Trade , Premio Mondello and Booker Prize .
PLOT : Before the nightmares began , the main character lived an ordinary , controlled life . But her dreams of blood and brutality eventually drive her to purge her mind and renounce eating meat . This decision is a small act of independence , interrupting her marriage and setting into motion a chain of events at home . This dark allegory is a tale of power , obsession , and one woman ’ s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her .
READER : This book is for the fiction aficionado looking for an alternative look at how norms of gender and society can play out .
PLOT : This book centers on a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead , where women are no longer allowed to read . She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant , because in an age of declining births , she is valued only if her ovaries are viable . This story serves as a satire and warning .
READER : This story if for the fiction fan looking for a strikingly realistic look at social and political issues relating to gender . made-magazine . com | 50