The Heart Goes Last

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood              Audio Book: 12 hours     Paperback Book:  400 pages                         Genre:  Adult Fiction    Economy, Corporate Downsizing, Homelessness,  

 Extreme Economic Solutions for a New Societal Order

Great story!   It could be taken out of today’s headlines and Atwood takes you realistically through how the life transformation shown in this story could actually take place, so real in fact, the reader might not be surprised to learn it is occurring somewhere in the world.    Stan and Charmaine, a young couple are hit by corporate downsizing and lose their jobs, their house and all of their possessions and are forced to live in their car.   This becomes an extra precarious situation when junkies and thugs start trying to break into their car while they are in it!   Even quality romance is squelched not just due to their environment and lack but the discomfort of crawling over the seats (he in the front seat, Charmaine in the back seat) and lack of privacy though Charmaine contemplates putting up curtains but the rocking of the car would be a dead giveaway.    Amid all this misery and surviving on stale doughnuts they can scrape enough change together to buy from time to time an offer comes as an answer from above about a new community, a gated community designed to help the poor get back on their feet.   That “If it sounds too good to be true…” saying and “Buyer beware…” is dangling in the air.    Is this Utopian society real?   Will they actually deliver and give people the hand up they need?   Can it all be as wonderful as promised?   O.K. what is the catch?    Reader, you will not want to put this one down.   It is a nail biter in the true suspense filled realm of what Is coming next – you will want to know – you will need to know – you will have to know.    Great story.   Well done, Margaret Atwood.