[SVI]⋙ Read Free The Heart Goes Last A Novel Margaret Atwood 9780385540353 Books

The Heart Goes Last A Novel Margaret Atwood 9780385540353 Books

Download As PDF : The Heart Goes Last A Novel Margaret Atwood 9780385540353 Books

The Heart Goes Last A Novel Margaret Atwood 9780385540353 Books

I can't begin to tell of my disappointment in this book from one of my favorite authors. A great premis of a story in the vein of The Handmaid's Tale but is so poorly executed I could barely finish it. I kept waiting for it to turn around, waiting for a brilliant Atwood twist and some poetic prose to be dropped on me but it never happened. The characters are beyond dumb, there is no real hero, reluctant or otherwise (not that there even has to be but GeezeLouise I need something to latch onto here). I could have cared less about any of the characters. The villain was not remotely interesting. Please inject them all and be done with it.


Tags : The Heart Goes Last: A Novel [Margaret Atwood] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>Margaret Atwood puts the human heart to the ultimate test in an utterly brilliant new novel that is as visionary as  The Handmaid's Tale</i> and as richly imagined as  The Blind Assassin</i>.</b>      Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car,Margaret Atwood,The Heart Goes Last: A Novel,Nan A. Talese,0385540353,Dystopias.,FICTION Humorous,FICTION Humorous.,FICTION Science Fiction Adventure,FICTION Science Fiction Adventure.,Married people,Prisoners,Psychological fiction,ATWOOD, MARGARET - PROSE & CRITICISM,Canada,Dystopian,FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Humorous General,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,Fiction,Fiction - Science Fiction,Fiction-Science Fiction,FictionDystopian,FictionHumorous - General,GENERAL,General Adult,Humorous - General,Monograph Series, any,SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,Science fiction,United States,science fiction; dystopian; speculative fiction; relationships; marriage; near future; the handmaid's tale; handmaid's tale; the handmaids tale; dystopian fiction; man booker prize; fairy tales; mythology; science fiction books; post apocalyptic fiction; apocalyptic fiction; literary fiction; satire; science fiction and fantasy; funny books; sci-fi books; humorous books; funny gifts; fiction; fiction books; humor; humor books; sci fi books; sci fi; literature; dystopia; comedy; novels; realistic fiction books; dystopian books,the handmaid's tale;handmaid's tale;the handmaids tale;dystopian fiction;dystopian;man booker prize;fairy tales;mythology;science fiction books;science fiction;speculative fiction;post apocalyptic fiction;apocalyptic fiction;marriage;relationships;irish gifts for men;margaret atwood books;margaret atwood;dystopia;sci-fi;literary fiction;sci fi;funny books;satire;comedy;sci fi books;sci-fi books;funny gifts;novels;fiction;humor;fiction books;humor books;literature;sci fi book;books fiction,Dystopian,FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Humorous General,FICTION Science Fiction Action & Adventure,FictionDystopian,FictionHumorous - General,Humorous - General,Science Fiction - Action & Adventure,Fiction - Science Fiction,Atwood, Margaret - Prose & Criticism,Science Fiction And Fantasy,Fiction,Science fiction

The Heart Goes Last A Novel Margaret Atwood 9780385540353 Books Reviews

Maggie is my literary goddess. I have ingested just about all the fiction she's written with a deep and ceaseless hunger! That said, this latest book left me a bit cold. Characters didn't strike a chord, despite their poignant dire circumstances, and I found myself skipping pages to get through to the next plot point. What went wrong? Not having read the previous stories in the Positron series, I can't comment on how this story might or might not carry the torch for that series. I only know that I wanted the blade that cuts into our fragile and foibled human condition to go deeper than it did here.

Still, I found humor and pathos in The Heart Goes Last. And, as usual when reading Atwood, my brain couldn't help but accelerate into the murky stratosphere of the future when the reckoning comes, for whatever course we've set ourselves on, what will become of us? And what will we mere humans do to survive in a repugnant cosmic stewpot of our own making?

Keep writing, Maggie! You inspire, enlighten, dazzle and comfort all at once.
“Then he’s unconscious. Then he stops breathing. The heart goes last.”

A wacked, absurd, comical novel that becomes obvious satire as the novel continues. As I read this book, I initially took it very seriously, trying to connect with the characters, understand motives, etc. However, by the end with the sexbots, possibilibots, Elvises and Marilyns it became obvious that the book is entirely satirical and meant to be comical. It also serves as a cautionary tale of “be careful what you wish for.” Having someone who loves you only because she has had the laser treatment may not be so fulfilling and rewarding in the end. Perhaps loving someone so completely is easier if you think you’ve had a brain surgery to make you do so.

I was so excited to embark on this novel after reading the premise a couple destitute in this futuristic world decides to sign up for “Consilience,” a social experiment, where you spend alternate months in a prison and in a home with stable jobs within the confines of Positron. Their relationship becomes strange and a whole lot of sex ensues, none of which is really sexy. Their freedoms have been lost by joining this program and they have seemingly signed their own personalities away as well. They become different, much more superficial in their needs and wants. It’s almost as if having decisions made for them is appreciated, especially on Charmaine’s part.

In sum, I enjoyed the initial unravelling of the exciting premise. This segued to the drudgery of the mid-section where the characters are acting like robots and no one is very likable, and finally to the last portion which is an overwhelmingly satirical picture of the future where no one is happy having an ordinary relationship or partner, but instead seeks out a paid or modified companion.

I’m a big fan of Margaret Atwood. This is the 7th novel of hers that I’ve read and maybe my 6th or 7th favorite of them all. She’s an excellent writer and this is humorous/chilling social commentary, but I didn’t connect with it as well as I have some of her other novels.

For discussion questions, please see book-chatter.com.
Okay, what the hell did I just read?! I came into this one pretty fresh off The Handmaid's Tale, and it could not possibly be any different. They're both dystopian, sure, but where Handmaid's Tale is bleak, serious, brilliant literary fiction, The Heart Goes Last is smutty, campy and ridiculous.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's certainly a highly readable book—a pageturner of sorts. And it starts off with an interesting premise Stan and Charmaine, a homeless couple living out of their car, accept an opportunity to take part in an experiment that promises to solve unemployment and crime and provide people with a meaningful life. Once they sign that contract, they'll live out the rest of their lives in a gated community with everything they need...the only catch is that they have to spend every other month in the community's prison system.

What begins as a compelling commentary on the prison industrial complex and the inevitable downsides of utopian societies goes completely off the rails halfway through and devolves into something else entirely. In fact, at times it's hard to believe you're still reading the same story.

It seems like Atwood came into this with lots of really interesting disparate ideas that she wasn't able to converge into a cohesive narrative. Or maybe not...maybe she just wanted to write something completely out there.

As a full novel, if didn't really work for me. And it didn't help that the final quarter was way too drawn out. Also worth mentioning is that the characters of Stan and Charmaine behaved in ways that were frustratingly inconsistent with my understanding of them.

I don't know. It's honestly amazing to me that the same person who wrote The Handmaid's Tale wrote this.
I can't begin to tell of my disappointment in this book from one of my favorite authors. A great premis of a story in the vein of The Handmaid's Tale but is so poorly executed I could barely finish it. I kept waiting for it to turn around, waiting for a brilliant Atwood twist and some poetic prose to be dropped on me but it never happened. The characters are beyond dumb, there is no real hero, reluctant or otherwise (not that there even has to be but GeezeLouise I need something to latch onto here). I could have cared less about any of the characters. The villain was not remotely interesting. Please inject them all and be done with it.