Review: Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"

Utopia. Paradise. Perfect society.  What is it about "blissful" societies that cause so many dystopian images?  And what is it about these dystopian images of society that draws readers in?  There is an attraction.  The Hunger Games and many of the trilogies that follow it in popularity are definite evidence of that.  The readership is captivated by worlds that are altered from current existence.  As these societies begin, their goal is perfection, but in seeking perfection, existence for their inhabitants becomes frightening and unbearable.  The strange thing is that readers are as enticed by these horror stories as they are by fairy tales and happily-ever-after--especially when these stories are as well-crafted and personal as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
First published in 1986, Atwood's story is as gripping and poignant now as it was over 25 years ago, because its outcome is more possible now than it was then.  It is a world where reading, especially for women, is prohibited.  The narrator of the story, Offred, is not an activist.  She wants to live quietly, keep her head down, and survive.  She thinks constantly of her past, of "the time before:" her husband and daughter.  For her, there is no future that she can readily imagine.  She hopes only for a glance of her former family.  As a handmaid she gets caught in the politics of a world that has become Biblical by Old Testament measures--there is no Christianity anymore.  It has been wiped out by the sect wars and the government has been wrenched from the hands of open-minded reason and grabbed in a manner reminiscent of Hitler's rise to power.  Society becomes idealized in a way that is bleak, colorless.  Individuality is swallowed up in rites, uniformity of dress, and down-cast eyes.
Though the story is dark, the reader comes to love Offred.  She had dreams of love and a career, of family and home.  She rebels in small ways.  Her narration is an act of rebellion.  She constantly tells her reader that she is not brave and looks at those she perceives as courageous with mild envy.  The reader loves her, and is caught up in her story, because the reader is led to ask what he or she would do in the same situation.  That is what draws the reader in. She sees Offred and she sees herself.
The ending of the story is indefinite, and this reader believes that Atwood composed the ending precisely this way so that the reader can decide what happened.  At the end of Offred's record, there are notes from a conference of scholars, from a future generation that deliberates the possibilities of what happened to her, why it happened, and how.  Any of these possibilities are feasible. Was she taken?  Did she escape?  Did she survive?  Readers can choose, and choose their own destiny as well.

New Job, New Challenges

I just started my third week with a new employer.  In a lot of ways the changes have been stressful but I was able to get through all of the initial stuff: the house-hunting, the move, the new rules (or lack thereof in some cases).  Now that I'm "back on my feet again, I plan to take BiblioBrainStorm off the back burner again.  It's wonderful to have a new beginning with such a wide expanse of possibilities ahead.  I can't wait to see where the journey takes me.

Education Entrepreneurs:(I mean Information Professionals) Bringing Technology and the Liberal Arts Together

I just read this article by Jeff Silingo about Education Entrepreneurs, and the question came to me, "Aren't libraries the perfect places to bring technical skills and the liberal arts together? Librarians do that now, right? 

The idea of education-based businesses doing away with traditional schools makes my stomach drop.  I see the need for change in education, but the severe focus of an education based solely on technical (or other) skills leaves such a whole in students' intellectual development. And yet, is the debate more about credentialing practices or about curriculum content?  The focus seems to vacillate between the two.

Jeff Silingo, the author of the article, quotes Josh Jarrett of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation “If we break up certification into packages, badges, and classes, who is going to verify the entire package?” This does seem to be a slippery slope.  How can education truly be measured--how can graduates be found to employ if no one can guarantee through comprehensive testing, discussion and practice that skills have been learned?  Writing and communication must be attached to technology--and too often it is not. The focus is too much on the doing of something, and not enough on the analysis of it.  Students are in danger of becoming automatons with no ability to think critically or problem-solve.

I quote Silingo, because I could not communicate the point better myself:

The issue I have with Smarterer’s model, and many other [education startup] companies that pitched here, is that it is based on educating and hiring largely technical workers with specific skills. It’s relatively easy to provide online courses in computer coding, and then assess that learning through crowdsourced tests. It’s much more difficult to do that for intuitive disciplines, like English, or softer skill sets, like critical thinking and communication.

 And, yet, even the forces behind these very companies admit the need for a more well-rounded education.  In fact, what is needed is an even more well-rounded education than is available now.  What is needed is a degree that brings together the searching investigation that thrives in the academic realm and the practical skills that are needed in the professional, career-oriented world.

I ask you, does not library and information science do that already?

We are here--SEE us!

A Great Story from A Great Bookstore

Do eBooks isolate us?  Read this and see what you think:

From Ken Sanders Rare Books

One of our customers shared a great story with us about a book he purchased from us online. We had listed the book as inscribed, but we did not include a description of what the inscription said. It turns out that our customer's grandfather was the author of the book, and this particular copy was inscribed by the author to his mother when the book was published! The book is now back in family hands, and everyone is happy. A heartwarming ending, and one that serves as a good reminder about the physicality of books--have you tried inscribing an ebook recently?

Libraries Have Survived the Economic Depression, But Budget Cuts Threaten Access

A new study out (supported by the ALA) affirms that libraries have "weather[ed] the storm of the economic depression, but funding cuts now threaten to undermine public access to public libraries. Find the Final 2011-2012 report here: Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2011-2012.  I will also place a link on the Articles Page.

Sadly, though libraries are being used more and more, those who fund libraries continue to think that they are a luxury, not a necessity.  Hopefully, this study will help to change public perception.

Updates to the LIS Articles Page

I have added two very interesting pieces to the LIS Articles Page:

Toward an Index of All Stories: Previewing Small Demons Jason B. Jones of the Chronicle of Higher Education speaks well of the possibilities for this new service that allows readers to discover how stories might intertwine, influence and reflect on each other.

and

Tovin Lapan (Las Vegas Sun) reports on How Libraries Reinvent Themselves for the Digital Age.

I've also added sections to the page, to try and make it more navigable.  Sadly, I still can't get internal links to actually link.  I will solve this problem soon!  The sections are:

·  Perceptions: What Librarians Do

·  Literature and Language

·  Career Insights

·  New Technology, New Skills, Innovation and Adaptation

Book Review: Revenge of the Rose by Nicole Galland

I was delighted with Nicole Galland's take on Jean Renart's thirteenth-century poem.  She blended the story into an engaging novel with well-developed characters and a plot-line that made it hard for me to put the book down.  For those of us who are familiar with the original, the charmingly sarcastic Lienor is still there, and so is the gorgeous Willliam of Dole.  Jouglet is there too; only this time, the author lets him stay through the entire story.  In fact, it is through the court minstrel's eyes that the reader is introduced to almost all of the characters.  Galland did not just rewrite the original story in modern language.  She added a few plot twists of her own.  Those whom Renart dismissed with a snap of his fingers or wave of his hand, Galland turns into very sympathetic characters. Even those students or enthusiasts who spent a lot of time with the original will be surprised and delighted by the turn of events, as well as pleased by this picture of medieval life.  You will love the story and it will haunt you for days after you have read the last page (with a smile on your face)!  I look forward to reading Galland's other novels.  She has won herself a dedicated fan--and that is a compliment coming from someone who is a purist when it comes to medieval literature!