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Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid's Tale, has become a modern classic—and 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.

Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love with Julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. Despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, Winston and Julia begin to question the Party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. Yet Big Brother will not tolerate dissent -- even in the mind. For those with original thoughts they invented Room 101. [editor summary]

Une célèbre contre-utopie contemporaine (1949) qui offre un contraste frappant avec celle de Huxley. Dans ce livre pessimiste et peut-être trop réaliste, la dictature règne en maîtresse de fer avec Big Brother qui contrôle les moindres gestes de l'humanité. Les trois slogans du parti unique donnent une idée de cette farouche vision anticipatrice: "La guerre, c'est la paix. La liberté, c'est l'esclavage. L'ignorance, c'est la force". Très répandue et très lue, elle forme avec l'oeuvre d'Aldous Huxley une sorte d'alternative et se montre très intuitive pour ce qui est d'une certaine portion de l'humanité occidentale de l'Est. [résumé de l'éditeur]