The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 5 October. The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK. We have an exclusive extract available for you to read.
The Heart Goes Last
Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of economic and social collapse. Living in their car, surviving on tips from Charmaine’s job at a dive bar, they’re increasingly vulnerable to roving gangs, and in a rather desperate state. So when they see an advertisement for the Positron Project in the town of Consilience – a ‘social experiment’ offering stable jobs and a home of their own – they sign up immediately. All they have to do in return for this suburban paradise is give up their freedom every second month, swapping their home for a prison cell.
At first, all is well. But slowly, unknown to the other, Stan and Charmaine develop a passionate obsession with their counterparts, the couple that occupy their home when they are in prison. Soon the pressures of conformity, mistrust, guilt and sexual desire take over, and Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.
Selection panel review
Our reading panel of staff from The Reading Agency and public library staff really enjoyed The Heart Goes Last – here are some of their comments:
“The book tests ideas of personal freedom and relationships to the limit, exploring euthanasia, sexual preferences, guilt and responsibility. Well written, enjoyable, and challenging. Definitely worth reading.”
“I liked the futuristic sense of this novel, where the world and society have become dangerous, with law and order breaking down and a rather survivalist way of life taking over. I was hooked by both main characters as they struggle with life both inside and outside the walls meant to protect them. There are some surprising twists in the plot as people are not who they seem to be…”
“A great read. The book considers issues of personal freedom, identity, sex and responsibility. Not an easy read but a compelling and important one.”
About the author
Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays, including The Handmaid’s Tale (winner of the 1988 Arthur C. Clarke Award), The Blind Assassin (winner of the 2000 Booker Prize), and the MaddAddam trilogy. Margaret has won a number of other literary awards, and in 2012 she was awarded the title of Companion of Literature by The Royal Society of Literature. Margaret Atwood lives in Toronto, Canada.
A word from Margaret
“It’s wonderful to have The Heart Goes Last chosen by the BBC Radio 2 Book Club – and especially wonderful because the choice was made by librarians. Libraries are one of the great equalising institutions – since they make reading available to all. Dictatorships burn books and control them strictly; democracies – at their best – open doors and expand opportunities. One of the greatest gifts you can give a child is the gift of reading.”
Get involved
Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Monday 5 October to hear a live interview with Margaret Atwood talking about her book.
Have you read The Heart Goes Last? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter, or by posting a review. You can also follow author Margaret Atwood on Twitter.
Win 10 copies of The Heart Goes Last for your reading group – just complete our short survey.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website
