The Heart Goes Last
by Margaret Atwood, 2015.
I was driving in the car, thinking of going for a walk--but the day was ugly, and there was a fascinating interview on The Diane Rehm Show. (10/27/15) I was familiar with the author's name, as one of her books (The Handmaid's Tale) was one I shelved back at the Bon Air Branch Public Library in high school. I'd never read it, or any of her other work, before, however.
This book could be set in the near future, or maybe even today. Jobs are hard to find, and people who should be successful in life are instead living in their cars, trying to survive without starving or being attacked by others. A couple decides to sign up for what sounds like a better option: living in a community where they are guaranteed a job and a place to live. The catch: one month they will spend in a traditional house, with a nice job; in alternate months, they will spend it in a prison, wearing an orange uniform and performing more menial tasks.
Part of the book in 1984-like, in the sense that the couple knows they are always being watched. But it didn't seem like 1984, because today we are so used to being observed in public, be it security cameras or cell phones. Also not unlike today: a corporation that makes realistic models for people to use as sex toys.
And what of the other couple that lives in the house when the two we know are in prison? What are their lives like? Who are they? We definitely encounter them as the book progresses.
Lots of interesting themes in this novel, including the choice between freedom & lifestyle. A couple items which will stick in my mind: blue teddy bears & Las Vegas Elvis impersonators.
I was driving in the car, thinking of going for a walk--but the day was ugly, and there was a fascinating interview on The Diane Rehm Show. (10/27/15) I was familiar with the author's name, as one of her books (The Handmaid's Tale) was one I shelved back at the Bon Air Branch Public Library in high school. I'd never read it, or any of her other work, before, however.
This book could be set in the near future, or maybe even today. Jobs are hard to find, and people who should be successful in life are instead living in their cars, trying to survive without starving or being attacked by others. A couple decides to sign up for what sounds like a better option: living in a community where they are guaranteed a job and a place to live. The catch: one month they will spend in a traditional house, with a nice job; in alternate months, they will spend it in a prison, wearing an orange uniform and performing more menial tasks.
Part of the book in 1984-like, in the sense that the couple knows they are always being watched. But it didn't seem like 1984, because today we are so used to being observed in public, be it security cameras or cell phones. Also not unlike today: a corporation that makes realistic models for people to use as sex toys.
And what of the other couple that lives in the house when the two we know are in prison? What are their lives like? Who are they? We definitely encounter them as the book progresses.
Lots of interesting themes in this novel, including the choice between freedom & lifestyle. A couple items which will stick in my mind: blue teddy bears & Las Vegas Elvis impersonators.