Review: The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood 

Like many people I was introduced to Margaret Atwood through her extremely popular book The Handmaid's Tale. I have since been reading her vast catalog of work, including her hilarious 2016 novel “The Heart Goes Last”.  “The Heart Goes Last” is a darkly comic tale about a couple living a hopeless life out of their car, surviving on tips from a bar job and feeling increasingly vulnerable. They see an ad for a “social experiment” offering a job and a secure place to live in the purpose built town of Consilience, the only catch being that they have to give up their freedom every second month to work and live in the town's prison.  Margaret Atwood is the queen of dystopian fiction, and pretty soon the paradise of Consilience reveals itself to have darker purposes in a page turning tale about conformity, community, mistrust, power, and control. Despite the dark content, “The Heart Goes Last” manages to stay light and funny with its bizarre characters and strange plot.  The Heart Goes Last is a solid 4/5 stars, and is definitely worth a read.  www.amazon.com/Heart-Goes-Last-Novel/dp/1101912367