A specially commissioned, unburnable edition of Margaret Atwood's “The Handmaid's Tale" has been auctioned for $130,000, Sotheby's announced Tuesday.
Proceeds will be donated to PEN America, which advocates for free expression worldwide. The 384-page book consists mainly of Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum product, and was announced last month at PEN's annual fundraising gala. To help promote the initiative, Atwood agreed to be filmed attempting — unsuccessfully — to incinerate a prototype with a flame thrower.
