Reviews with content warning for Cancer - The Heart Goes Last

This is actually a re-read for me, with I think about 5 years since I read it for the first time.

First off, I love Margaret Atwood, and this is very Margaret Atwood-y. It's a dystopia where an oppressive government/societal power is seemingly providing safety, but of course there is something darker going on. There is A LOT of sex, and the male/female (and this is a pretty heteronormative) power dynamic is also front and center.

I couldn't remember how this book ends, and that's because it's really kind of a let down. I really thought the first 3/4th of the book was super interesting and engaging, but it was a steep drop off in character and world building in the end. It felt pretty rushed and just trying to tie a bow on things in the end.

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book is thoroughly fucked up, Stepford Wives meets.... I don't know what. Really well done dystopia, very believable, probably because it borrows on actual social issues such as the Prison Industrial Complex. I also spent the whole book thinking that Stan and Charmaine need to get a divorce, that I'd be mad if they stayed married and Atwood said, "oh, I can think of something worse". I think the most fascinating thing about this book is it's about bringing down this dystopian system, when the main characters don't actually care to do it, they are forced to help. They find out about murder and all kinds of fucked up things and are just like, "but the system gives me a house". It really gets into the idea of what would you be willing to give up for security and comfort, especially when you aren't the one giving anything up, you make other ppl do it. A very real tale about what happens when people are selfish. I find this very pertinent considering we just had to watch the first billionaire go to space with money he could be using to end world hunger, poverty, climate change, etc.

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