“The Testaments by Margaret Atwood – read the exclusive first extract”

“Set more than 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood’s Booker prize-shortlisted sequel revisits her dystopian republic Gilead

Part one: The Ardua Hall Holograph

Only dead people are allowed to have statues, but I have been given one while still alive. Already I am petrified.

This statue was a small token of appreciation for my many contributions, said the citation, which was read out by Aunt Vidala. She’d been assigned the task by our superiors, and was far from appreciative. I thanked her with as much modesty as I could summon, then pulled the rope that released the cloth drape shrouding me; it billowed to the ground, and there I stood. We don’t do cheering here at Ardua Hall, but there was some discreet clapping. I inclined my head in a nod.(...)” (Lido em: The Guardian, 2019-09--04)