The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwoodby Margaret Atwood
Ranked 5 of 8 dystopian novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a well-written dystopia, though one critic says it takes an aggressive political bent.
People recommend it as a well-written dystopia, though one critic says it takes an aggressive political bent.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well written, good book
“Handmaid's Tale is actually a pretty decently written book for a dystopia. You just need to like dystopias.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal” “It's a good book, it seems contentious to list it as a "bad book" as a given”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal” “"The Handmaid's Tale is a bad book" is a wild take to start with.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal” - Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Dua Lipa opens library for banned and censored books in Portugal”
Other dystopian novels people recommend
The four most recommended other dystopian novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984by George Orwell | 42 | 8 | 84% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Roadby Cormac McCarthy | 27 | 2 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Nineteen Eighty-Fourby George Orwell | 24 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Weby Yevgeny Zamyatin | 11 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret AtwoodThis page | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's a good book, it seems contentious to list it as a "bad book" as a given”
“"The Handmaid's Tale is a bad book" is a wild take to start with.”
“The Handmaid's Tale is quite good.”
“Handmaid's Tale is actually a pretty decently written book for a dystopia. You just need to like dystopias.”
“Books that are simply bad books and in addition to being bad take an aggressive, political bent.”
“something like The Handmaid's Tale (yes, that's sci-fi)”
“I encourage you to watch or read the Handmaid's Tale if you want to see what that could look like.”
“has a great variation on that moment”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.