When the close minded hold a book burning, you better believe there are copies of Margarette Atwoods, The Handmaid’s Tale on top of the pile.
So playing on that ridiculous notion, Maggie Atwood herself, along with Penguin Publishing, created a single “unburnable” copy of the seminal novel, a dystopian tale about a theocracy that forces fertile women to bear children for the privileged.
It was even tested by Atwood with an actual flamethrower. (above)
“I never thought I’d be trying to burn one of my own books… and failing,” she wrote on Twitter, adding it was her “first time” using the device.
The fireproof version sold Tuesday through Sotheby’s New York for $130,000. Proceeds will go towards PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization, with Atwood adding she was “very pleased” with the outcome. She said in a statement Tuesday: “Free speech issues are being hotly debated, and PEN is a sane voice amidst all the shouting.”