A burn-proof edition of 'The Handmaid's Tale' goes up for auction
Organizers say proceeds from the auction will be donated to PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world.
NEW YORK — Margaret Atwood has imagined apocalyptic disaster, Dystopian government and an author faking her own death. But until recently she had spared herself the nightmare of trying to burn one of her own books.
With a flamethrower, no less.
She failed, and that was the point.
On Monday night, timed for PEN America's annual gala, Atwood and Penguin Random House announced that a one-off, unburnable edition of "The Handmaid's that shows Atwood attempting in vain to incinerate her classic novel about a totalitarian patriarchy, the Republic of Gilead. Proceeds will be donated to PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world.
