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‘The seriousness of her purpose is never in doubt ... Atwood is consciously stepping over the conventional authorial line, offering something she considers more useful than fiction: a clear, unmistakable warning about what lies ahead. The vision Atwood recreates of a sophisticated, apartheid, and lethally unsafe society is chilling, but believable. In her hands, the scariest developments of science and anxiety over unregulated experimentation and abuse of knowledge have been taken to a pitch only a few steps away from where we stand today ... Atwood's skill in recreating a parallel universe to our own, and her grasp of the science that underpins our lives, is impressive. Gifted with an instinct for seeing behind humankind's self-deception and for posing an alternative reality that has frighteningly close links to our own, she is a natural seer for an age that does not want to look too closely at what it condones, or refuses to see.’ Rosemary Goring, Glasgow Herald ‘Atwood’s command of the science required to make her distopian vision believable is impeccable. But it’s the representation of the ultimate result of meddling with nature, the unpicking of our obsession with youth and ever greater comfort, the consequences of the relaxation of moral imperatives and the tragic inevitability of the power mad genius that make this beautiful and compelling novel a wake up call for our time.’ Jenni Murray, Orange Prize website — in full
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