The Handmaid's Tale Author, Margaret Atwood, Auctions A Special Unburnable Edition Of Her Novel To Protest Book Burning In America
"Because powerful words can never be extinguished."
The Handmaid's Tale foretold a dystopian Gilead society where women were treated as the government's property. In the book, the Republic of Gilead used to be the United States until an extremist religion took power to address the world's infertility crisis.
The few fertile women were captured and forced to bear the children of the wealthy. They are called handmaids, based on a biblical reference from the Book of Genesis.
In an attempt to repopulate the devastated planet, the handmaids are made to rotate among different households. They are essentially treated as human incubators for various affluent families.
The themes of the book are impactful enough to have been adapted into a hit television series. Its popularity also means the book has been subjected to a different kind of scrutiny.
The thought-provoking ideas presented in the book are considered controversial by some. It has consistently been a part of the Most Challenged Books list by the American Library Association.
The Handmaid's Tale is arguably one of the most powerful pieces of literature at the forefront of the feminist movement. It is eerily prophetic, foreshadowing society's attempts to chip away at women's rights little by little.
While no copies of The Handmaid's Tale have been literally burned yet, Margaret Atwood deemed it prudent to raise awareness about censorship. She did so in the best way possible.
Margaret Atwood, along with the publishing giant Penguin Random House, released a special edition of The Handmaid's Tale
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALETo protest the archaic book banning currently happening in America
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALEThey published an "unburnable" version of Atwood's classic
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
This is not the first time The Handmaid's Tale has been subjected to immense scrutiny, so to speak
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
But this is the first time the book actually cannot be burned
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
The production of this book took two months
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
They had to carefully plan which materials to use for this symbolic version
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
With the help of master craftsman Jeremy Martin, Atwood's dystopian classic was forged anew
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
The book can reportedly withstand heat up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,426 degrees Celsius
therealmargaretatwood
To test the book's fireproof durability, the author herself ignited the flames
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
With a flamethrower in hand, 87-year-old Margaret Atwood burned her most beloved yet most contested work
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The moment couldn't be captured better than this
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
It took months of planning before the unburnable version could be successfully published
They had to conduct multiple trials and errors before finding the right materials — first for the fire-resistant pages, then for the cover, and the ultimate test was finding a binding that wouldn't fall apart once the book burning commenced.
Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
The special unburnable edition of The Handmaid's Tale was put up for auction
YouTube: Penguin Random House / The Unburnable Book: Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID'S TALE
If the novel is strong enough to fight for feminism, then it's definitely strong enough to raise awareness about the rampant book censorship in America
Penguin Random House Presents The Unburnable Book
You can watch the whole clip below:
The fireproof edition of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale was auctioned for several days. The entire proceeds from the auction were donated to PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists) America, which is leading the charge against the censorship crisis.
The winning bid was $130,000. Margaret Atwood is not one to back down from a fight; they weren't successful in trying to keep her quiet before, and this time, fire can't dampen her indomitable spirit.
