Author of 'The Handmaid's Tale': It was 'farfetched' when I wrote it -- but Trump is making it real

Margaret Atwood, whose dystopian 1985 novel "The Handmaid's Tale" describes a a totalitarian theocracy that has taken over the U.S. and subjugated women for the ruling class, claims the election of Donald Trump is making her book all too real now.

In an interview at Cuba's international book fair, the Canadian-born Atwood said sales of "The Handmaid's Tale" have jumped with the election of Trump, while admitting interest has also grown due to a remake of the 1990 film as a miniseries to be shown on Hulu.

According to Reuters, Atwood told the audience the idea behind the book seemed "far-fetched" when she wrote it.

"When it first came out it was viewed as being farfetched,” Atwood explained. "However when I wrote it I was making sure I wasn’t putting anything into it that human beings had not already done somewhere at sometime."

According to Atwood, the rise of Trump with his boasting of sexually assaulting women on whim -- as well as once saying women should face punishment if they get an abortion -- is making her book more relevant now than ever with the book once again becoming a best seller.

"You are seeing a bubbling up of it now," Atwood said, referencing Trump. "It's back to 17th century puritan values of new England at that time in which women were pretty low on the hierarchy".