This month instead of doing a book vs. movie I thought what about book vs. TV show? Nowadays a lot of books are getting adapted into TV Shows, the Six of Crows duology being one I am super excited to see when it comes out. Another super popular one is of course Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale which, as I just finished the book a few days ago I thought would be a good one to start with! It’s interesting because I actually marathoned the series with my mum in January so I watched the series before I read the book. The 3rd season is coming out in April and I am very excited to get back into the world and see what happens next!
So with all that being said these are my thoughts on The Handmaid’s Tale:
Pros: Offred’s commentary is actually really witty and realistic. You can really see how oppressed she has become but she still kind of maintains her originality. The first season is pretty much an exact replica of the book which I like. I’m not a huge fan of veering so far away from the original concept that you can’t recognise the plot. But the show also expanded on the story and gave us so much more information, which I really enjoyed!
Cons: The book was actually pretty short, so it didn’t really give me enough time to connect with the characters or get really settled into the plot. It jumps from past and present a lot and the pacing was a little on the slower side. In the TV Show they made a lot of the characters younger than what they are in the book. I appreciate they are trying to reach a certain audience but I feel like it would have been more effective had they left them with their original ages. It would make sense that they would need the Handmaid’s if the characters were on the older side.
Overall thoughts: The premise is super interesting but the book was a little boring. In the TV Show they took the original plot on board but expanded so much more of the world and went more in depth with the characters and their motivations.
My Recommendation: It really goes against everything I stand for, but I am going to have to say the TV Show. You just get so much more information about the world and the characters and we see a continuation of their storylines. The ending of the book is just so abrupt and left me wondering so it’s nice to see what happens after the story finished.
amyleighreads.com 