“The Handmaid’s Tale”, by Margaret Atwood, a novel set in a totalitarian society, rose to the top of Amazon’s list of best-selling books in the United States after Donald Trump’s re-election.
The book had a surprising increase of 6,866% in sales, according to company data released this Thursday morning (7), jumping in a single day to the third position of the best sellers compared to its previous ranking of 209th.
Currently, the work occupies first place in the literary fiction and political fiction categories on Amazon, and is in ninth place on the bestseller list at Barnes & Noble, the largest bookstore chain in the USA.
Former Republican President Trump beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the election this Tuesday (5), winning a second term after losing in 2020.
One of the main issues of this election was reproductive rights, a point of concern for the Trump campaign, as polls showed that voters strongly favored Harris on this issue.
Although Trump has said he would veto a federal abortion ban, he has claimed credit for appointing three conservative justices who changed the balance of the U.S. Supreme Court and, in 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade. Wade, case law that legalized abortion in 1973.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” takes place in a male-dominated theocratic future USA, in which the US Constitution is suspended, the media is censored, and women (the “handmaids” of the title) are forced to bear children for the ruling class.
Many drew comparisons to Atwood’s classic in the run-up to the election, especially around the topic of reproductive rights.
Commenting on the strong participation of women in early voting data, former senior advisor to Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, told the American broadcaster MSNBC that “women don’t want to be in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’”, despite research exit polls show that Harris’ advantage among women did not exceed that of Joe Biden in 2020 or that of Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Atwood, an outspoken supporter of abortion rights, posted on X, formerly Twitter, a political cartoon before the election that showed women dressed as handmaids voting and exchanging their uniforms for street clothes as they exited the voting booth.
After the election, she posted: “Desperation is not an option.”
This is not the first time his book has entered the political conversation. Women dressed in the handmaids’ iconic white hood and red cloak have become symbols in protests, from the nomination of Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to the repercussions of the Roe v. Wade case. Wade.
Other works of dystopian fiction also dominated the bestseller list.
Novels that deal with similar themes of oppression, such as George Orwell’s “1984,” about constant surveillance and strict government control, and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” about a society in which books are completely banned, have seen a rise 250% and 333% in sales on Amazon, respectively.
The election also boosted downloads of certain apps, such as Calm, a meditation app, which has risen 100 spots in the App Store since election night, according to an app spokesperson.
Calm drew attention on social media after running ads that offered viewers “30 seconds of silence” amid ongoing coverage of the election.
The current number one selling book on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble lists is former first lady Melania Trump’s memoir, titled “Melania.”
