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The Testaments

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The Testaments

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Bryce Dallas Howard, Ann Dowd, Mae Whitman, Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal, Margaret Atwood
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Booker Prize 2019.

The British Book Awards Audiobook of the Year 2020

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood is read by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard and Mae Whitman with Derek Jacobi, Tantoo Cardinal and Margaret Atwood.

Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid's Tale, is a modern classic. Now she brings the iconic story to a dramatic conclusion in this riveting sequel.

More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results.

Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets.

As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.

'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

©2019 Margaret Atwood (P)2019 Penguin Audio Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Classics

Critic Reviews

Gripping, pacy and beautifully written (Justine Jordan)
Finding hope in a hopeless place, this is everything The Handmaid’s Tale fans wanted and more. Prepare to hold your breath throughout, and to cry real tears at the end. My book of the year (Kayleigh Dray)
The Testaments is Atwood at her best, in its mixture of generosity, insight and control. The prose is adroit, direct, beautifully turned. All over the reading world, the history books are being opened to the next blank page and Atwood’s name is written at the top of it. To read this book is to feel the world turning (Anne Enright)
All stars
Most relevant  
An absolute must for any fan of The Handmaid’s Tales. I couldn’t stop listening and was pleased with the answers to so many questions.

Brilliant as you would expect from Margaret Atwood

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All that I hoped it would be, and performed so well. Wouldn’t expect anything less from Margaret Atwood.

Amazing, and satisfying.

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Great narration and switch of storylines.

Listening to the different stories and countries made this a good listen. This didn’t have the monotone that was evident in the handmaids tale from offreds view.

Liked to hear the ideals and thoughts from the children that grew up in Gilliard.

More lively than A handmaids tale

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Somehow, incredibly, it builds upon and improves the legacy of its predecessor. Not better than Handmaid's Tale, but an extension of it.

Simply amazing

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A great book! A real page turner full of excitement and an addictive story. If you loved the first book and the TV show you will most certainly love this book. Thank you Margaret Atwood

Excellent!

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What a stunning finale from Margaret Atwood. Exciting to the last page. The performances are fantastic. Can Anne Dowd get an Emmy for this?

Loved it.

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So good - the performances were spectacular- didn’t want it to end!!! Highly recommend- you won’t be disappointed

Amazing!!

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Interesting format of 2 female witness statements testimony and Aunt Lydia's journal to carry the listener along explaining the fall of Gilead.
Clearly read to us in the first person giving the listener an intimate insight into these 3 women.
Aunt Lydia once despised as the most vile and cruel administrator changes her spots and we meet a totally different and most human woman who is as vulnerable as her female charges.
Offred/June's 2 daughters are intrumental in accomplishing the destruction of this harsh regime.
Of course there are unfortunate victims in the story or else it would not be Gilead.
Altogether satisfying.

Fascinating

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I've never anticipated a book as eagerly as this and I was not disappointed. Atwood's work doesn't always hit the mark for me and I worried I wouldn't love this, but it's amazing.
It could have done without the last chapter, but it was a reflection if the end if The Handmaid's Tale, so I understand why it was there.

Surpasses expectations

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I “read” The Testaments over only a few days- I really couldn’t put it down.
I had read Handmaid’s Tale back in the late 90s - so I relistened to Elizabeth Moss’ audible reading first - was worth brushing up before launching into this.
A really great wrap up and follow on.

Amazing

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