Bloomsbury
24 September 2015
hardcover
Margaret Atwood’s latest novel is an incisive critique of our current society. Neoliberalism and the prison industrial complex, as well as nostalgia for a non-existent, rosy mid-20th century, all cop a wry humoured nudging. Not a bashing; Atwood would never be so unsubtle.
Charmaine and Stan are at their wits’ end. Struggling to get by in the depths of an economic depression and a society barely holding itself together, they live in their car and can see no way out of their deepening poverty. Fortunately, they are eligible to participate in a well funded social experiment, the Positron Project. They will be provided with a house, with employment, and with the safety of a gated community, in return for spending every second month as prisoners in the Positron Prison. Continue reading