the Handmaid's tale by margaret atwood?

Question

what genre woould you consider that
dont say, fiction because we need to be more specific here.

Answer 1

Dystopian future fiction

Here's how Ms Atwood classifies it:

"Q: It's hard to pin down a genre for this novel. Is it science fiction?

A: No, it certainly isn't science fiction. Science fiction is filled with Martians and space travel to other planets, and things like that. That isn't this book at all. The Handmaid's Tale is speculative fiction in the genre of Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Nineteen Eighty-Four was written not as science fiction but as an extrapolation of life in 1948. So, too, The Handmaid's Tale is a slight twist on the society we have now."

Answer 2

As someone who has taught Science Fiction, I would classify it as Speculative Fiction since it takes issues from the present and projects them into the future. In that case, it would fall into the same category as books like 1984, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, some of Vonnegut's works and the many other books that look at a futuristic world with one foot still in the present.

If there was a special classification for the most perfectly written books in history - it would be among them. It is a remarkable book. One of my absolute favorites. Pax- C

Answer 3

I agree with the previous answer. I would have said science fiction, but his is better. It's very much on the lines of books by John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids etc) and JG Ballard.

Answer 4

Science fiction, women's lit, Canadian lit