Shadowhunters actor Alberto Rosende hosts an online book club where he leads live discussions about assigned books on the book club’s Instagram account. Whether you’re a dedicated Shadowhunters fan already familiar with these literary adventures or you’re new to the club, we’ve got a companion series that’ll catch you up on the latest novel Alberto’s got us reading. These recaps will be about the topics, quotes, and general discussions during Alberto’s live, and not a recap of the books. We won’t deprive you of the experience of reading them for yourselves.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Chapters 1-18)
In a new update, Alberto announced he will be inviting a book club member to give a 5-10 minute “book report” on the book and author.
This week, Alberto had Tessa Mossy (who plays Heidi on Shadowhunters) join him for the discussion. He felt it was important to have a female perspective given the topics depicted in this book. She will also be joining him for the entirety of the discussion on The Handmaid’s Tale. Tessa did an amazing job this week giving us background on the author, Margaret Atwood, and facilitating discussions around the important themes of the book.
As previously mentioned, we won’t be giving away too much about the book itself, but the first question posed by Alberto and Tessa was: “What did you think of the reality of the book? Did you think it was something that could never happen?”
Many viewers believed in the possibility of this reality and actually found the novel scary and difficult to read because Offred’s (the main character) situation felt like it could happen. Offred’s reality uncannily parallels our own.
The themes in this book range from the consequences of complacency, fertility, the power of language, and women’s lack of autonomy. Other big takeaways from the session were discussions about “ignoring versus ignorance” and “freedom to versus freedom from.” Alberto also compared this book to another dystopian novel, 1984 by George Orwell.
We also discussed characters: Aunt Lydia, the Commander, Serena Joy, and Offred. Margaret Atwood does an amazing job using Offred’s memories and interactions with other characters to drive the larger messages home. We get to see how Offred’s world changed from a world like our own to one of fear.
Viewers shared quotes from the book throughout the live, here are a few:
Ash6289:“Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating bathtub, you’d be boiled to death before you knew it.”
Annakatfernandes:“I want to be valid, in ways that I am not; I want to be more than valuable.”
Cat_parker2906:“Like other things now, thought must be rationed. There’s a lot that doesn’t bear thinking about. Thinking can hurt your chances, and I intend to last.”
Verenalightwood:“We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edge of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between stories.”
Our own favorite line:“I avoid looking down at my body, not so much because it’s shameful or immodest but because I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to look at something that determines me so completely.”
The Handmaid’s Tale (Chapters 1-18) ranked at a glance (Ashlee H./Basic Stuff Magazine)
Let us know your thoughts on The Handmaid’s Tale. And if you were part of the discussion, what was your favorite moment? Do you have a favorite quote we didn’t mention?
Got some time and want to watch the live for yourself? This YouTube channel (run by @BaneAndLewis) posts recordings.
Don’t forget to read up to chapter 31 for this Sunday. See you there, and remember, stay curious!
