Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments begs many questions.
Such as how did it become the joint winner of the 2019 Man Booker Prize? Did the committee hate Bernardine Evaristo so much that they simply couldn’t stand making her book (Girl, Woman, Other) the sole winner?
Did the committee actually read The Testaments, or were they simply relying on Margaret Atwood’s reputation?
How mad were Colson Whitehead (The Nickel Boys), Susan Choi (Trust Exercise), and Ian McEwan (Machines Like Me) when the prize was announced?
Were James Patterson, E.L. James, and my Uncle Bill on the committee that year?
Did Margaret Atwood really write The Testaments? Or was it written by a Russian hacker who stole her identity but forgot to also take her brilliance?
Did this book need to be written? Isn’t any sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale (regardless of whether it is written by the real Margaret Atwood or not) bound to disappoint?
Why are the characters one dimensional and without nuance? Why is the plot predictable? Why are all the twists straight lines?
Did she write the book because the creators of The Handmaid’s Tale TV show needed more material – so they paid her a ton of money to do it?
Just because you own a cash cow, do you have to milk it?
Gladiola Overdrive, Chief Editor
Pungent Sound Journal of Pulp Poetry 