The Testaments: A Novel

The sequel to The Handmaid's Tale that follow the life of a girls that have lived in Canada and the Republic of Gilead. Men have very little presence in the novel. They appear to marry or sexually abuse girls. The focus is on the girls. One girl is raised in a modern Canada. Her parents are very protective. Against their desires, she sneaks out to a Gilead protest. It turns out that she was actually born there and had escaped to be raised by a Canadian family. She later goes back to "infiltrate" Gilead. She has trouble living a pious life.

The other focus is the girls of Gilead. One doesn't want to be married after experience untoward behavior from the dentist. She instead joins the "aunts". They remain celibate, engage in recruiting missions in Canada and also have the ability to read. In the process, they also uncover some of the inconsistencies in their society. They live in circumstances that appear to us to be very harsh and cruel. However, they are just living their normal lives. They have hopes and desires within the realm that they live. They don't consider the regime they live in to be oppressive. (The girl in "open" Canada comes across as being more internally "oppressed".) Even though they are comfortable with the society they live in, they are upset with cruelties and inconsistencies. They find great offense from those that violate the rules of their society.