Margret Atwood holds a special place in my heart. I fell in love with her once more with the resurrection of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ thanks to Hulu’s stunning depiction of the dystopian future Atwood so vividly depicts. It’s quite messed up to say I enjoyed both the novel and the series as they tell the tale of such evil however I do and when I came across another of her books on my favourite website Wordery I thought I would delve back into her beautiful mind and indulge once more into whatever topic Atwood seemed fitting to manipulate.
The heart goes last follows the tale of Stan and Charmaine in a future of uncertainty, where conomic crisis grips the nation and their lives take a downward spiral along with much of the population. They find themselves at rock bottom living in fear out of their beat up car. When the opportunity arises to join a new living phenomenon it seems to good to miss out on. As the plot develops we see how things aren’t as crystal clear or perfect as they once seemed but I wont ruin it for you. Ending with a chubby Elvis and a woman in love with a teddy bear it all gets a little far fetched for me but then when you compare it to Gilead is this just a more scientifically led dystopia rather than religious?
Initially I was drawn to the cover artwork I wont lie, the striking red background and purple blue heart lock was something I thought would look mighty swish on my bookshelf and paired with some Margaret Atwood childhood memories I was sold.
The overall plot was true Atwood style, well-written descriptive where necessary and still vague to leave room for your imagination to flourish. The timeline easy to follow and narrative seamlessly flowed without confusion but ultimately I found it that bit too predictable. I could see the ending before I had read it and with my imagination running wild with descriptors I was almost one step ahead which although kept my interest left me a bit underwhelmed. The ending a tad clique maybe I am a pessimist and almost wanted it to end badly but with everything well rounded off and no cliff hangers I didn’t feel like the plot ran round in my head when I had finished. There were no what ifs or had I missed something it was just…finished.
