"The Testaments" Better than The Handmaid's Tale?

Honestly, I was a little skeptical of The Testaments when first picking it up, as while I wasn’t actually too sure of how much more I needed to know about the world portrayed, as its not as if this “sequel” was well known. Moreover, I appreciated The Handmaids Tale and enjoyed it’ artistic decisions, such as obvious exclusions of information, and a clear attention to creating a story that exuded both dullness and hopeless. However, while I understood these decisions and appreciated its execution, I always longed for more, as I was a reader who loved two things in particular, lore and action, both things The Handmaids Tale was obviously missing, as it was meant to be an accurate depiction of what the daily goings of a handmaid would be. Therefore, I am happy to report that The Testaments absolutely destroyed any expectations I had for it, and would most definitely recommend it as an accompanying novel to the first.

Personally, I felt like this novel gave me everything that I wanted from The Handmaids Tale, which was way more action and way more backstory, to a world that intrigued me to no avail, as it was a dystopian universe with a distinct focus on femininity and gender. While the feminist undertones may not be as strong in The Testaments¸ and it lacks much of the philosophical musings of its predecessor, it is still set in the same universe, so the overall theme of what it means to be female still remains strong.

In fact, I’d argue The Testaments is much more captivating than The Handmaids Tale as I had a much easier time being compelled to pick it up, although its almost certainly because of my preferences with novels. To an extent, one could argue that the pacing is almost the exact opposite of The Handmaids Tale as while The Handmaids Tale was restricted by the fact that it was difficult to make moves as an ordinary handmaid in Gilead, The Testaments has no barriers. Specifically, The Testaments follows three stories seemingly unconnected stories, which eventually intertwine to form one unifying narrative. Despite the fact that the story moves fairly quickly with time jumps, since three stories must be told, I do think I prefer this format, because it removes much of the glut that made The Handmaids Tale drag on a tad bit, which made it a more difficult read.

If I had to rank the three stories in order of least to most interesting, I think I would have to go Aunt Lydia, Agnes, and then Nicole. While I didn’t dislike Nicole’s story and enjoyed reading about life outside Gilead, her story was by far the shortest, and I almost immediately picked up she was Nicole after about one or two chapters from her point of view. On the other hand, I absolutely adored Aunt Lydia’s chapters, as all of the politicking and backstabbing almost gave me shades of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It was these sorts of little victories with trickling amounts of hope that I longed for when reading The Handmaids Tale, and thankfully that mistake was corrected. Furthermore, the chapters involving Agnes finally provided some much needed insight into the comings and goings of the world of Gilead, and there was so much more I never realized I wanted to know

Final Score: 83/100
    Overall, while this novel would almost certainly not be at all enjoyable without reading The Handmaids Tale, I can say with confidence that I enjoyed it much more than. Perhaps it was because it was in a style of writing that appealed to my love of fantasy and fictional worlds, or it was because it was not attempting to perfectly emulate the conditions of the world it was living in, either way it was more than I could ever have hoped for. Ultimately, it’s a shame The Testaments is not as well known as The Handmaids Tale as it is in my opinion a perfect companion novel.