Called "Fascinating" By the New York times upon its first publication in 1984, won wide critical praise and cult status, and has often been compared to the futurist fiction of margaret atwood. Set in the twenty-second ce...Called "Fascinating" By the New York times upon its first publication in 1984, won wide critical praise and cult status, and has often been compared to the futurist fiction of margaret atwood. Set in the twenty-second century, the novel tells of a world where women are once again property, denied civil rights and banned from public life.