“War is what happens when language fails.”
Few authors have shaped modern literature quite like Margaret Atwood. Renowned for her sharp wit, visionary storytelling, and fearless exploration of gender, power, and identity, Atwood’s novels have become cornerstones of contemporary fiction. Whether you’re discovering her work for the first time or revisiting her classics, knowing the best Margaret Atwood books in order can help you appreciate her evolution as a writer. From dystopian masterpieces like The Handmaid’s Tale to literary gems such as Cat’s Eye and The Blind Assassin, each novel reveals a new facet of her brilliance. Today at What We Reading, we’re ranking our favourite Margaret Atwood books, outlining our preferred reading order – perfect for longtime fans or readers wondering where to begin. So, dive in and explore the worlds conjured by one of literature’s most influential voices.
The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Where else could we start a list of the best Margaret Atwood books than with arguably the Canadian author’s most famous work? The Handmaid’s Tale is set in the near future, describing life in what was once the United States but is now known as the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birth rate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans.
The ruling regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for both men and women in its population. The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new societal order. In condensed but eloquent prose, she reveals the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm facade. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is a scathing, dire warning, and undoubtedly Margaret Atwood at her shining best.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Handmaid’s Tale
The Testaments (The Handmaid’s Tale #2) (2019)
The Testaments is the powerful, long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, returning readers to the oppressive theocracy of Gilead fifteen years after Offred’s story ends. Told through the testimonies of three women – Aunt Lydia, a high-ranking enforcer of Gilead’s laws; Agnes, a young woman raised within its rigid hierarchy; and Daisy, a teenager living safely across the border in Canada – the novel weaves together their perspectives to expose cracks forming in Gilead’s foundations.
Each woman’s story sheds light on the regime’s control, hypocrisy, and the quiet acts of defiance that threaten its stability. Through its alternating voices, The Testaments explores power, complicity, and the courage to resist even the darkest systems. Both a gripping standalone and a satisfying continuation, Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning novel offers a hopeful, thought-provoking vision of rebellion and resistance.
Oryx And Crake (MaddAddam #1) (2003)
Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx, whom they both loved.
In search of answers, Snowman sets out on a journey – with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake – through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. In Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our wildest imagination.
The Blind Assassin (2000)
Margaret Atwood’s novel The Blind Assassin opens with the line: “Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge.” They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura’s death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming her death to be an accident. But, just as we expect to settle into Laura’s story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband.
In The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood stretches the limits of her imagination with a novel that is both entertaining and profoundly serious. The Blind Assassin is one of the best Atwood books for anyone looking for a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience.
Alias Grace (1996)
It is 1843, and Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer and his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent. Others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.
An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who are looking for a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Captivating and disturbing, Alias Grace is another Margaret Atwood novel that shows the Canadian at the height of her powers.
My Evil Mother (2022)
Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may – or may not – be a witch. Single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons.
Then there are the hushed and mystical consultations with neighbourhood women in distress. The unsavoury, mysterious plants in the flower beds. The divined warning to steer clear of a boyfriend whose fate is certainly doomed. But as the daughter of this bewitching homemaker comes of age and her mother’s claims become more and more outlandish, she begins to question everything she once took for granted.
The Penelopiad (2005)
In Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope, wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy, is depicted as the quintessential faithful wife. Left alone for twenty years while Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War, Penelope manages to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep a hundred suitors at bay. When Odysseus finally returns home, he kills her suitors and, strangely, twelve of her maids.
The Penelopiad is a modern twist on this ancient story. Atwood asks why these maids had to die, and what Penelope was really up to. This dazzling, playful retelling soon becomes as wide and compassionate as it is haunting, as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. The Penelopiad gives Penelope new life and reality – and sets out to provide an answer to this ancient mystery.
Check Out The Best Books About Women In Greek Mythology
Cat’s Eye (1988)
Cat’s Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal.
Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as a daughter, a lover, and an artist, and a woman – but above all, she must seek release from her haunting memories. Disturbing, hilarious, and compassionate, Cat’s Eye is another one of the most breathtaking Margaret Atwood books about a woman grappling with the tangled knots of her life.
The Heart Goes Last (2015)
Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn around their fortunes – and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Conscilience seems to be the answer to their prayers.
No one is unemployed, and everyone gets a comfortable house to live in – for six months of the year. For alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in prison is done, they are free to return to their homes in Consilience. When Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months she and Stan are in prison, a series of troubling events soon puts Stan’s life in grave danger. Eventually, Positron looks less like an answered prayer and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.
Hag-See (2016)
When Felix is deposed as artistic director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival by his devious assistant and longtime enemy, his production of The Tempest is cancelled, and he is heartbroken. Reduced to a life of exile in rural southern Ontario – accompanied only by his fantasy daughter, Miranda, who died twelve years ago – Felix devises a plan for retribution.
Eventually, he finds a job teaching Literacy Through Theatre to the prisoners at the nearby Burgess Correctional Institution. There, an auspicious star places his enemies within his reach. His enemies are about to find themselves taking part in an interactive and illusion-ridden version of The Tempest that will change all of their lives forever. But, how will Felix deal with his invisible Miranda’s decision to take part in the play?
The Edible Woman (1969)
Marian is determined to be ordinary. She lays her head gently on the shoulder of her serious fiancé and quietly awaits marriage. But she didn’t count on an inner rebellion that would rock her stable routine and her digestion. Marriage a la mode, Marian discovers, is something that she literally cannot stomach.
The Edible Woman is a funny, engaging novel about emotional cannibalism, men and women, and the desire to be consumed.
Surfacing (1972)
Another one of the most influential and iconic Margaret Atwood books, Surfacing is the story of a talented woman artist who goes in search of her missing father on a remote island in northern Quebec. Setting out with her lover and another young couple, she soon finds herself captivated by the isolated setting, where a marriage begins to fall apart, violence and dark lurk beneath the surface, and sex becomes a catalyst for conflict and dangerous decisions.
Surfacing is a work permeated with an aura of suspense, complex with layered meanings, and written in brilliant, sharp prose. It is a classic Atwood novel about modern life and nature, families and marriage, and about women fragmented… and becoming whole.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
