''The Heart Goes Last'' is a novel by Margaret Atwood, published in September 2015 by

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

in Canada, Nan A. Talese in the US and Bloomsbury in the UK. The novel is described as a "wickedly funny and deeply disturbing novel about a near future in which the lawful are locked up and the lawless roam free." The novel is set in the same near-future dystopia as the darkly comic Byliner serial ''Positron'' which was released online.

Plot

Living in their car, surviving on tips, Charmaine and Stan are in a desperate state. So, when they see an advertisement for 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 suburban paradise is give up their freedom every second month – swapping their home for a prison cell. At first, all is well. But then, unknown to each other, Stan and Charmaine develop passionate obsessions with their ‘Alternates,’ the couple that occupies their house when they are in prison. Soon the pressures of conformity, mistrust, guilt and sexual desire begin to take over.

Reception

The novel won the Red Tentacle award. Its French translation, ''C'est le coeur qui lâche en dernier'', was selected for the 2018 edition of ''

Le Combat des livres ''Le Combat des livres'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Première in Canada. A French edition of the ''Canada Reads'' competition, the program was launched in 2004. It aired annually from ...

'', where it was defended by Russell Smith."Combat des livres is back!"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, April 24, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Goes Last, The Novels by Margaret Atwood 2015 Canadian novels Canadian science fiction novels Dystopian novels McClelland & Stewart books