People frequently ask me what I’ve been reading lately or for recommendations on what to read. I love to share and usually rattle off a list of books I’ve read recently and loved to death. I used to review on Amazon a lot, but once I started writing myself, I don’t do that as much because it can be a bit of a conflict of interest.
But no one said I can’t do it on my own site, right?
Here’s three for the first post. Margaret Atwood is a genius, no question, and the MaddAddam trilogy is no exception. Not only have I read all three of these, I’ve also listened to them on audiobook during my heinously long commutes. I’ve got to say, I’ve listened to book two more than once I like it so much.
The first book, 
In this volume we see the world built and then totally destroyed, or vice versa. And the future is bleak…and shockingly familiar feeling. While the words can get a little strained at times in this volume, it’s as unique as it comes. The audiobook is simply astounding and, like the other two books, it’s almost like experiencing a whole different book.
The second book, The Year of the Flood, is the masterpiece of the trilogy in my opinion. Both in the written form and the audiobook, but the audio deserves some special mention. It is read by three readers, which is how the story is told, and they are just about as perfect as can be for it. By the time the audio was over, I was ready to sign up for being a gardener…well…almost.
In the book, during Adam’s sections, there are explanations of the various saint’s days…and their saints aren’t the ones you’re probably thinking of. Fossey, Jane Goodall…yeah, those are saints. But back on topic, there are hymns. I glossed over them while reading because they didn’t really interest me. It’s sort of the same thing I do when authors stick poetry inside of fiction novels. I’m not big on poetry so I skip it or gloss over just enough to get whatever is important to the larger story out of it.
While listening to an audiobook it isn’t so easy to do that, and while I was irritated on the first one, I was entranced by the third and singing along with a few of them on the second time I listened. Yeah, weird, but true. And I’m not a hymn person. Oh, and I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and generally avoid singing anyway. So…there’s that. In the end, I can honestly say that this audiobook is probably one of the best, if not the best, produced audiobook I’ve listened to. And I’ve listened to a load of them. Libraries seem to have these so that might be a good place for commuters to check for it.
As for the story? Well, we get a bunch of overlap from the first book and we know, as a reader, that the “End of the World as We Know It” is coming but we hear it from a totally new set of voices and perspectives. And it is fascinating and wonderful as much as it is terrible. And again, the thumping noise of our near future if we’re not careful is the background to this entire story.
The final volume, MaddAddam, was a long time coming. And while there were people who were disappointed with this final volume, I really enjoyed it. I did have a few beefs with things I felt might have been stretched a little in order to reach an ending that didn’t quite fit with the story so far. But I still loved it. And in the end, isn’t that all that matters? We do have some crossover from the previous two novels as they bring the characters from them together, but then it moves forward into new territory. Except for Zeb, whose past is explored in a series of stories that are pretty hilarious at times and terrible in others.
That said, like many other readers I found myself going “Huh?” during many of the stories of Zeb because they just didn’t fit into the whole narrative and had the distinct feeling of filler. Except that I think they were added simply because so many people decided they liked Zeb and Atwood was giving us more of him.
The audiobook on this one was also excellent, particularly the star of it…the voice of Toby. She’s just the rock star of the series, no doubt. It doesn’t rise to the level of astoundingly wonderful awesomeness that the second book is, but it is very close. All told, I felt very satisfied with the ending, even though I didn’t get the ending that I wanted to happen.
Verdict: The whole series is wunderbar, with book two being the pinnacle of greatness in both the written and audio form. You can read the second volume without reading the first one with very little in the way of backstory required for understanding it…Amazon reviews would be enough. The third one can’t be read on it’s own.