Books like The Handmaid's Tale
Loved The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? Here are 10 books with the same pull, and why each one fits.
About The Handmaid's Tale →10 books
- 1Vox

Vox
Christina DalcherLike The Handmaid's Tale, it follows a woman resisting a religiously driven American regime that strips women of autonomy, here by strictly limiting their speech.
- 2Red Clocks

Red Clocks
Leni ZumasLike The Handmaid's Tale, it explores state control of reproduction through intimate women's stories, pairing restrictive laws with lyrical prose and quiet dread.
- 3When She Woke

When She Woke
Hillary JordanLike The Handmaid's Tale, it depicts a religiously authoritarian America where reproductive choices become crimes and a woman struggles to reclaim her identity.
- 4Future Home of the Living God

Future Home of the Living God
Louise ErdrichLike The Handmaid's Tale, it uses an intimate first-person voice to follow a pregnant woman as reproductive panic fuels religious authoritarianism.
- 5Gather the Daughters

Gather the Daughters
Jennie MelamedLike The Handmaid's Tale, it reveals a closed patriarchal society through women's lives, exposing ritualized sexual control beneath religious rules and everyday routines.
- 6The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Meg ElisonLike The Handmaid's Tale, it links a fertility crisis to women's enslavement, using an intimate survival narrative to explore bodily autonomy and resistance.
- 7The Memory Police

The Memory Police
Yōko OgawaShares dystopian setting, surveillance, and haunting atmosphere, exploring loss of memory and oppression.
- 8Parable of the Sower

Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. ButlerFeatures a near-future dystopia with societal collapse, oppression, and a woman's resilience in a harsh world.
- 9The Power

The Power
Naomi AldermanExplores a world where women develop electric shocks, shifting power dynamics similarly to The Handmaid's Tale.
- 10The End We Start From

The End We Start From
Megan HunterA dystopian near-future where climate collapse forces women into difficult choices and survival scenarios.
Want picks just for you? Tell us books you love.
Wrote a book on this list? Get a badge for your site
More book lists
- The best Spanish-language novelsGreat novels first written in Spanish, from Spain and Latin America, classic and modern.50 books
- French classics everyone should readThe great French novels, from Dumas and Hugo to Camus and Duras.30 books
- Witchy reads for autumnCovens, curses, spellbooks and small towns full of magic for the season of falling leaves.20 books
- Spooky books for people who don't read horrorEerie, atmospheric and a little unsettling, but you'll still sleep tonight.20 books







