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The Heart Goes Last
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
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The Heart Goes Last
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Summary
Margaret Atwood puts the human heart to the ultimate test in an utterly brilliant new novel that is as visionary as The Handmaid's Tale and as richly imagined as The Blind Assassin.
Stan and Charmaine are a married couple trying to stay afloat in the midst of an economic and social collapse. Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around - and fast.
The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed, and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in...for six months out of the year.
On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in the prison is completed, they can return to their 'civilian' homes.
At first, this doesn't seem like too much of a sacrifice to make in order to have a roof over one's head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months when she and Stan are in the prison, a series of troubling events unfolds, putting Stan's life in danger.
With each passing day, Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.
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What listeners say about The Heart Goes Last
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Josephine
- 05-02-16
love all Atwood books
wonderful humour in this novel... Atwood at her best. The story develops so well, you can't wait for next stage..
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Craig
- 21-01-16
Average.
The drama and suspense never really built up, and the twists in the plot were very predictable. However, with that said, the story was unique and interesting to keep me entertained, and the way Atwood explores and explains the dystopian setting of the book was exactly what is missing out of a lot of books in this genre.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Toby Atkins
- 05-04-19
Great listen!
Really enjoyed this audio book. Having two narrators added some variety and they were both perfect for the roles. Although this book covers some huge meaty topics, it is more fun and light hearted compared to some of Margaret Atwood’s other novels. I love the kind of character led sci-fi that she writes, and this book was no exception. Give it a read!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sian Watson
- 16-05-20
Well preformed book but not my favourite MA book
Very good performances but I feel the plot lost its way. The concept of the universe feels weak and less thought out than other Margaret Atwood books.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Reena Richards
- 22-04-16
Good but Atwood has done better
I enjoyed this dystopian novel from Atwood. It was not as engaging as The Handmaid's Tale (in my opinion), but I enjoyed it and I cared about what happened to the characters.
I'd possibly go for 3.75 stars over four stars but I don't have that option!
Charmaine's piece is read as somewhat "airhead" or "dumb blonde". I think that was at least partly deliberate but it was only slightly annoying at times.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kevin Boone
- 08-08-20
Outstanding -- funny and highly disturbing
This is one of the best books I've read in recent times. Like most of Atwood's writing, this is a story set in a dystopian near-future. Perhaps less typically, this is a story with no heroes -- all the characters are shallow and deeply dislikeable. Even so, the ghastliness of the situation they get themselves into is capable of stirring a flicker of sympathy.
What distinguishes this book from Handmaid's Tale -- which it resembles in setting and mood -- is how funny it is. Handmaid's Tale is a great book, but there aren't many chuckles in it. This story, however, is very funny. To be fair, it's a kind of bleak, cynical humor that won't appeal to everyone.
In the end, even with the humor, this book paints a pretty dark picture of human nature. In fact, the humor probably throws this darkness into sharp relief.
If you're only going to read one book this year, consider this one.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-02-21
The Heart Goes Last
enjoyed this book very much . was taken on a journey of such imagination . intriguing gripping and as always this writer never fails to deliver
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Ryan Kirkaldie
- 01-01-21
Very original and fantastic narration
I really enjoyed this! The storyline was great and very original. I thought the characters were well written, and I found my opinion of them changed regularly throughout the book. The narration captured the characters well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AJC
- 11-02-24
Dystopian fairy tale
This starts grimly and grittily futuristic, then develops into a surreal roller coaster of a fantastic yarn which has all the elements of a fairy tale. It’s great fun, sometimes very funny, and wonderfully satisfying. I’m an Atwood fan anyway, but I really enjoyed it and she seemed to be having a lot of fun. The performances were excellent, and the two readers did a lot to keep your sympathies with two protagonists who - quite convincingly - do some awful things and are all too human, with the flaws that it entails. I loved it!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- K Bookworm
- 16-12-15
Under par Attwood
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Not sure, it starts so badly.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Not sure.
What aspect of Cassandra Campbell and Mark Deakins ’s performance might you have changed?
Not their fault.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
Certainly not
Any additional comments?
Am an ardent fan of Margaret Atwood and her recent Oryx & Crake trilogy - so this latest book came as rather a disappointment.
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10 people found this helpful