Margaret Atwood

A conclusion to the trilogy that includes Oryx and Crake finds Toby and Ren returning to the MaddAddamite cob house after rescuing Amanda and assuming the duties of the Craker's religious overseers while Zeb searches for the founder of the pacifist green religion he left years earlier.

A Novel

MaddAddam

Andrew John Kinney

Really enjoyed the trilogy. A page-turner if you like bleak novels, of which Atwood is the master.

This was my least favorite in the trilogy…I didn’t connect as much with Zeb and found myself caring less about his story of origin.

Sarah Erle

Mary Rose Luksha

I knew right away that I would give this book 3 stars when I finished, but I had to take some time to think about why. Some things just didn't jive for me, but I needed to let it sit in my brain until I had the words for it. 

Then this morning I read an article about kishotenketsu - a plot structure primarily in China and Japan where the plot does not hinge on conflict. There is exposition and contrast, then a twist to generate interest, then a fourth element you could call "resolution" to tie the exposition and twist together. This article also talked about the need for conflict in plots in the West. We must always have some thing or someone triumphing over another. There must always be a winner and loser. 

Putting aside what that says about Western culture, I found myself thinking a lot about Maddaddam while reading this article. I am a HUGE Atwood fan. Her writing is beautiful and perfect and I love her. I loved reading about Zeb's past, and how it tied together ideas from Oryx and Crake and let the reader see the downward spiral of civilization. And I loved reading Blackbeard's progression from just a Craker child to basically their first priest. In this way, Atwood was able to write about and critique some pretty heavy cultural ideas without getting preachy and while retaining subtlety. 

However, it took me ages to get through this book. By ages I mean about 3 weeks. But I usually devour Atwood books. So what gives? I thought. Why don't you want to find out what happens in this brave new world after the Waterless Flood? And this morning it hit me: Atwood wrote the most interesting parts of the book in the past and/or from an inconsequential perspective. Zeb's entire story has no urgency to it, since he's telling Toby years later. Yeah, I wanted to read about it, but I knew it wasn't going to affect anyone right away, so I took my time. And then (view spoiler)[ writing the battle from Blackbeard's perspective took away all emotional urgency for any of the characters with any stake in the situation. Watching Adam die must have been heart wrenching for Zeb. We wouldn't know. How does Toby deal with the chaos and loss? How does she comfort Zeb? We don't know.  (hide spoiler)]

While reading the kishotenketsu article I realized the answer: it doesn't matter. Atwood's narrative is structured this way to impress upon the reader the triviality of the characters. Zeb's backstory has no conflict because that world is dead. What does it matter? (view spoiler)[ Blackbeard writes about the battle because the Crakers are the new humanity, so the reader views the conflict through their (boring) eyes.  (hide spoiler)] It was smart, very smart; and that's one of the reasons I have a total girl crush on Margaret Atwood. But in this case, it felt like she sacrificed the story for the sake of the commentary. But I pose a question: can you have a relevant commentary without a driven plot?

Here's a link to the kishotenketsu post: http://stilleatingoranges.tumblr.com/...
Incase you want to read it. I know it's tumblr but there's some good points made in that baby. 

And finally, what I wrote above is my main criticism of Maddaddam. There were a lot of things I loved, and there were a lot more I was unhappy with (character development in Toby and Jimmy), but those were my main thoughts.

For fans of the first two books and readers of Margaret Atwood's fiction in general. Bringing together characters from Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood, this thrilling conclusion to Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction trilogy confirms the ultimate endurance of humanity, community, and love. Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, which is being fortified against man and giant Pigoon alike. Accompanying them are the Crakers, the gentle, quasi-human species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. While their reluctant prophet, Jimmy -- Crake's one-time friend -- recovers from a debilitating fever, it's left to Toby to narrate the Craker theology, with Crake as Creator. She must also deal with cultural misunderstandings, terrible coffee, and her jealousy over her lover, Zeb. Meanwhile, Zeb searches for Adam One, founder of the God's Gardeners, the pacifist green religion from which Zeb broke years ago to lead the MaddAddamites in active resistance against the destructive CorpSeCorps. Now, under threat of an imminent Painballer attack, the MaddAddamites must fight back with the aid of their newfound allies, some of whom have four trotters. At the centre, is the extraordinary story of Zeb's past, which involves a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear, and a bizarre act of revenge. Combining adventure, humour, romance, superb storytelling, and an imagination that is at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognizable world, MaddAddam is vintage Margaret Atwood, and a moving and dramatic conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy.

Melody Izard

More gaps filled in - more and more Crakers. Told as Toby relayed the oral history of the world during her story hour. The worlds end and rebirth.

Mahasin S Ameen

This book gets all of the stars. Atwood has managed again to create her post apocalyptic world of survivors that sucks you right in.

Amulya Garimella

From one of the world's most brilliant and exciting writers comes a new novel of astonishing power; the final novel in her dystopian trilogy

Toby and Ren return to the MaddAddamite cob house after rescuing Amanda and assuming the duties of the Craker's religious overseers while Zeb searches for the founder of the pacifist green religion he left years earlier.

MaddAddam A Novel

Reviews