The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel set in the near future where a financial crisis has led to widespread unemployment, homelessness and social unrest. The story follows a married couple, Stan and Charmaine, who are struggling to make ends meet and are living out of their car. When they hear of an experimental program called the Positron Project, they sign up immediately.

The Positron Project promises to provide participants with a stable job, a comfortable home and a sense of security in exchange for spending one month as prisoners and the other month as residents in a luxurious town. As Stan and Charmaine adjust to their new life, they realize that the project is not what it seems. They discover that the town is not as idyllic as it appears and the sinister motives behind the project become apparent.

As the story progresses, the couple faces unexpected challenges and dangers, including an illicit affair, secret surveillance, and a rebellion against the oppressive system. The Heart Goes Last explores themes of love, betrayal, power, and illusion in a world where everything is controlled and manipulated.

• The Heart Goes Last

• A Novel
• By: Margaret Atwood
• Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins

Margaret Atwood puts the human heart to the ultimate test in a brilliant new novel, as visionary as The Handmaid’s Tale and as imaginative as The Blind Assassin.

Stan and Charmaine are a couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of a social and economic downturn. Losing their jobs forces them to live in cars, making them easy targets for roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around—and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone has a comfortable, clean home to live in. . . for six months of the year. During the alternate months, the residents of Consilience had to leave their homes and live as prisoners in the Positron prison system. After completing their month of prison service, they can return to their “civilian” homes.

At first, this doesn’t seem like too much of a sacrifice to have a roof over your head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months she and Stan are in prison, a troubling series of events occurs that puts Stan’s life in jeopardy. With each passing day, the Positron looks less like an answered prayer but more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.

I enjoyed this book, though I have to admit that it is not my favorite of her books. It contains many of the elements that her other books have – Big Brother v. the little man, fantasy/sci-fi elements and a slight nihilistic look at the world. I found several elements in the book to be implausible – and yes, while I know the book is pure fantasy, I still expected her to tie them up a bit more neatly.

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