Two book reviews in two paragraphs

Tonight was book club at church. Just before I left for the states, I attended a MeetUp book club for the first time. Here are my thoughts on the two books:

A Narrow Road to the Deep North.
A very grim book based on the true story of Australian POWs building a railroad crossing the Thai-Burmese border. One third of the POWs died in the jungle during constant abuse by the Japanese. The book is told from the point of view of a doctor who tried to save as many soldiers as he could. In his later years he was celebrated as a national hero but he was wracked with guilt because he didn’t buy into the mythology that has arisen around him. While he did many heroic things, he was helpless to prevent horrible atrocities so his heroism isn’t a source of comfort to him. And he has a dark side in regards to his relationships with women, so he is only too familiar with his failings.

The Handmaid’s Tale.
I read this when it first came out 30 years ago and it remains gripping. I misremembered the opening scene. I recalled that the protagonist went to the ATM and her card wouldn’t work and that is how the patriarchy began. Isabella, who runs the group, had the very same memory. We compared notes on how we still find malfunctioning ATMs alarming. In fact, in something like chapter 36, the handmaid’s Compucard wouldn’t let her buy cigarettes. Atwood tapped into such a deep psychic fear that Isabella and I had the same selective recollection.
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