# The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

6 Hacker News commenters recommended The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a well-written dystopia, though one critic says it takes an aggressive political bent.

## Why people recommend it

- Well written, good book (4 comments): "Handmaid's Tale is actually a pretty decently written book for a dystopia. You just need to like dystopias." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48817524)) "It's a good book, it seems contentious to list it as a "bad book" as a given" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48818088)) ""The Handmaid's Tale is a bad book" is a wild take to start with." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48817681))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [1984 by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/1984.md): 42 recommend
- [The Road by Cormac McCarthy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/road.md): 27 recommend
- [Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nineteen-eighty-four.md): 24 recommend
- [We by Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/we.md): 11 recommend
- [The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hunger-games.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/198489966X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781984899668) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood", https://hackerapproved.com/p/handmaid-s-tale/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).