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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Sometimes Margaret Atwood's writings are weird genius (I am a huge fan of the MaddAdam series and that stuff was seriously crazy) and sometimes it's just weird. This was just weird.
Prisons, Elvis Impersonators, and sex robots. If those three words grab you then this book may be for you. If not, don't say I didn't warn you.
Prisons, Elvis Impersonators, and sex robots. If those three words grab you then this book may be for you. If not, don't say I didn't warn you.
3.5/5 Overall not my favorite of Atwood’s books, but I enjoyed the read!
Relativity is a tricky, unfair sort of thing. If this was a debut, by an author whose name I’d never heard, I would’ve probably given it five stars. Well, maybe—difficult to say because I can’t approach this book without the knowledge of The Handsmaid’s Tale or the MaddAddam trilogy. Alas, we arrive at four stars.
I liked it—it made me laugh out loud, surprised me multiple times over once I thought I’d figured it out, and made me question myself—all things a good speculative Atwood book is supposed to do. Parts of it I loved—the heroine’s thoughts during the “procedures” she performs. The characters mull over thinnest veils of rationalization which prove to be almost indestructible, even faced with absurd tests,
But there are parts of it that just don’t quite meld together, leaving some sharp edges. Transitions are jarring, the world seems inconsistent, losing in its interior logic. The broken future/devasted economy/science gone amok world just isn’t as convincing as MaddAddam trilogy’s world, and the sexual tensions , fetishes, and “spaghetti” (to use her own word) isn’t as emotionally subtle and mature as that in The Handmaid’s Tale. At times, the twin protagonists seem almost teen-ager-like in their jealousy, hormones, and naiveté.
About half way through, I got the feeling that this was a trunked novel. A trunked novel of course is one that a writer writes early in his/her career that can’t quite compete and ends up being put aside for a while to be pulled out, dusted off, and published during a dry time later on. Stephen King pulls out trunked novels so often, his haunted-male-writer characters have started to do it, too. (See: Bag of Bones. Meta-trunked.) Nothing wrong with a trunked novel, but it’s just not going to have the same magic as the best work.
Of course, I don’t know if Heart Goes Last was really a trunked novel, but it is missing some of that magic. Perhaps missing some of the emotional gravitas to balance out the dark humor.
Still—definitely worth a read.
I liked it—it made me laugh out loud, surprised me multiple times over once I thought I’d figured it out, and made me question myself—all things a good speculative Atwood book is supposed to do. Parts of it I loved—the heroine’s thoughts during the “procedures” she performs. The characters mull over thinnest veils of rationalization which prove to be almost indestructible, even faced with absurd tests,
But there are parts of it that just don’t quite meld together, leaving some sharp edges. Transitions are jarring, the world seems inconsistent, losing in its interior logic. The broken future/devasted economy/science gone amok world just isn’t as convincing as MaddAddam trilogy’s world, and the sexual tensions , fetishes, and “spaghetti” (to use her own word) isn’t as emotionally subtle and mature as that in The Handmaid’s Tale. At times, the twin protagonists seem almost teen-ager-like in their jealousy, hormones, and naiveté.
About half way through, I got the feeling that this was a trunked novel. A trunked novel of course is one that a writer writes early in his/her career that can’t quite compete and ends up being put aside for a while to be pulled out, dusted off, and published during a dry time later on. Stephen King pulls out trunked novels so often, his haunted-male-writer characters have started to do it, too. (See: Bag of Bones. Meta-trunked.) Nothing wrong with a trunked novel, but it’s just not going to have the same magic as the best work.
Of course, I don’t know if Heart Goes Last was really a trunked novel, but it is missing some of that magic. Perhaps missing some of the emotional gravitas to balance out the dark humor.
Still—definitely worth a read.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good dystopian Atwood for a while and then it seemed to get weirder and less meaningful to me. Very readable, but not very memorable.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this. Wasn't as serious or dark as some of the other Atwood I've read. It was a lot of fun-- it got weird in places-- all of it flew by. The states stumble forward into a dystopian future due to economic collapse, enter a for profit voluntary prison scheme that strips individuals of certain choices and freedoms. Interesting concept, current dialogue, curious characters. This was a fun novel to read. Probably not a "must read", but definitely enjoyable.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
It was a cool concept, but I found it hard to sympathise with the characters after a while.
Seems blasphemous to give such a low rating to a Margaret Atwood book, but alas. Strong start & completely lost interest through the middle. The end was rushed & tried to explain the themes throughout the book in like the last 10 pages. Poorly constructed & wasn’t engaging at all, & was all over the place.
Started off interesting with the middle class being crushed and offered a second chance in a project hit then it went horribly wrong.