The MaddAddam Trilogy: Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood; MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

Format: Paperback (Boxed set)

Pages: 376; 448; 416

Source: Own (Gift)

Genres: Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Science-Fiction

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Publication date: July 28th, 2009; July 27th, 2010; August 12th, 2014.

Read on: February 22nd-28th; June 27th to July 5th; August 24th to September 1st, 2015.

Thoughts: One thing I should probably get out of the way is that I absolutely love Margaret Atwood. To this day I have not read something by her and not enjoy it. Her work on speculative fiction and science fiction is amazing, in my own opinion. So when my mother-in-law gave me the box set for the MaddAddam trilogy I was unbelievably happy, and I had to force myself to pace my reading (I did have other books to read before) of the whole thing. It was worth the effort since it not only gave me more time to digest all my thoughts, it made the experience last longer.

In the first book we are introduced to Jimmy-The-Snowman, possibly the last human on Earth. Through flashbacks we learn of the past world (still a futuristic world compared to where we are now), his best friend Crake and his lost love Oryx. The second book, told mostly from the view of Toby and Ren, sheds light on the other side of story, outside the compounds and into the plebes. The stories, both past and present, finally merge in MaddAddam, where all the final pieces of the puzzle come to place revealing all details of what happened to Earth and why it came to be what it is now. I am really trying to avoid spoilers here, but trust me, it’s a great story.

All three books are going to tackle subjects such as genetic manipulation, pharma and aesthetic procedures and finally, what pop culture/entertainment has devolved into, having (almost) every whim attended for via the Internet. As has been the case on any other book I’ve read from Atwood, characters are deeply flawed, making them even more human and involving. Unbelievable world building, and once again incredible speculative talent, particularly where it comes to science advances make this trilogy one of my favorites. I would recommend it to all my friends that are in science. If you don’t want any spoilers, this is probably the moment to stop reading.

Here is the thing. As a scientist this trilogy was both incredibly fun to read and nerve-wracking at the same time. Some of the scientific developments she describes, such as the Pigoons or the lab cultured meats, have already happened, albeit to a much smaller scale and so far with very different applications than the ones described in the book. Because I work in the academic/scientific world I am aware of where the research is (to a certain extent) and most of its limitations, even if I don’t work on that direct line of research.

But I have to wonder, what happens when someone’s first “contact” with genetic splicing or modified organisms comes through science fiction. How many of those readers will go and look for the actual science that this speculative fiction is based on? My distress comes from thinking that not many of them do and things like this only serve to fuel an uninformed fear towards what science can/can’t do when modifying genes, developing new drugs, etc.

I’ve already discussed why I think it’s so important for Science Fiction to have good science basis, and this trilogy is a great example of how amazing a piece of fiction can be with the proper scientific research to back it up. But because so many works of science fiction present these bleak and cold outcomes due to misuse of science, I can’t help but wonder how many of the people outside science are afraid of it precisely because of this dystopic panoramas. We could argue that only one “crazy” scientist is the culprit of pushing the tragedy to its final outcome. The point remains that a lot of the things discussed in this trilogy, while plausible, are presented in a scary way, which off course is understandable since we are talking about a dystopian view. I hope you understand the apprehensiveness I get about this being the first view of gene splicing some people will get.

As I’ve been writing this, I’ve been trying to think of an example where accurate science has been presented with a brighter view in fiction, and to tell you the truth, I haven’t been able to pinpoint one. This can be due to personal bias, as I do read a fair amount of dystopian fiction, but maybe you can help me out here. I believe that both sides of the coin (the bleak and the bright side of science) should be present in fiction, both for readers with scientific background and without out. I am fairly sure they are out there, I just haven’t found a book with a more cheerful outcome yet. If you have any recommendations, please, leave me a comment!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Freedom, like anything else, is relative.

Why I read this book

Last year (2013) I read my first book from Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman, and loved it. The way she threw fiction elements while making a very impressive critique of society was amazing for me, and so I wanted to keep reading her work. The Handmaid's Tale has been mentioned several times as an iconic part of her work and when I saw it on my recommended on Audible it was a no brainer to get myself a copy.

What the book is about

The book is set in a dystopian future, taking place mostly in what used to be Massachusetts. After a "terrorist" attack, a theocratic, Christian regime has taken over. Women have lost any right they might've had and all "sinners" (homosexuals, people who committed adultery, people of other faiths) have been either killed or "re educated" (are you cringing already?) . The story is told by a woman we learn to know as Offred, this implying that she is a possession of a man with Fred on his surname. Offred has been made a Handmaid which in this new country, more than servant, implies child bearer. It is explained through the book that due to chemical contamination, radiation and other factors, procreation has been in declined in the country, and hence the government have established that officials not only have a wife, but also access to women (the handmaids) that will carry their child, sort off surrogate mothers. After delivery, the child is given to the wife to raise. Offred's destiny depends on her submission and her ability to bear children.

First impressions

Listening to this book was hard, mostly because of the way women are treated, but also because you feel that this speculative work of fiction could easily take place again (references to other theocratic regimes are easily spotted, particularly Iran). Jumps from present to past are sometimes abrupt, but it carries a good feeling of how train of thought sometimes takes place and, in my case at least, makes the connection with the protagonist even deeper. That type of writing made me feel pain, angst and helplessness as Offred was feeling them too.

Final thoughts

Is hard for me to put into words my final thoughts. See, I have a lot of feelings when I think of this book, but they are not easy to put into paper, simply because they touch so deep. But let's try.

I felt rage as a woman, at to how women were treated. I've read some other reviews saying "well this would never happen; oh our society would never let this happen to women". And yet look at all the contraception legislation in the USA, most of the definitions are being taken by male politicians, and people are going with it.

I felt afraid of this being a plausible thing, maybe not right now where I am, but somewhere in the world there is right now a totalitarian movement, feeding, slowly maybe, and growing and getting more and more powerful. There are things that seem to happen suddenly when you are far away, but is just because you weren't in site to see the tiny changes that carried a big one. And this applies to any type of changes, positive or negative, particularly since this label is so subjective. The critic about how money was not physical anymore hit a stroke in me. I never thought about how I rely on plastic more and more. Not on credit, but I use my debit card most of the time and hence my contact with physical money has been decreasing more and more.

I felt sad at the different situations Offred had to go through, leaving her past behind, having so many memories, so many loved ones that she lost, almost overnight.

I felt a bit frustrated at the end of the book, because I wanted more closure, but at the same time, the way the author rounds the whole thing up, made me "forgive" the not knowing.

I loved Claire Danes as a narrator. At first I thought her tone was a bit flat, but this was at very beginning when the character was just stating facts. As emotions surged, as different characters appeared, so did new tones, new inflictions in her voice that made me get more into the whole story.

Nobody dies of lack of sex, is lack of love we die from 

 

 

The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

The thing that ruins families these days is the husbands

Why I read this book?

Rebbecca from Book Riot raves about Margaret Atwood. After seeing an amazing interview with her I decided it was time to start from the beginning. I was not disappointed.

What's the book about?

Marian is a girl working with a survey enterprise. She is dating a guy, without any pressure…and then he proposes, which being the 60’s is supposed to make you happy, right? Except…her daily routine changes; she cannot longer eat. Thinking of eating even makes her stomach move. The closer and the more public the engagement and hence the marriage the hardest it is for her to eat anything, could it be that her body is telling her something she doesn’t want to see?

What about the main character?

Marian McAlpin is a complicated character. At first she seemed pretty plain, but as the book advances she grows, not only as a character, but as a presence. Her point of views, her fears are in way of critics to the world that she, as a woman, is supposed to accept, but she won’t! And I liked her!

Final thoughts

I really, really liked this book. The first part starts as a first person point of view, we see Marian’s doubt, her views on her friends and acquaintances, on the world. When she gets engaged and “becomes the fiancée” character, the story turns to be told from a by standard point of view, the way Marian starts feeling about her life, like she has no control. It will take her a while to realize that’s what is bothering her but watch out for when she does. The side characters would seem are there to reinforce the ideas that are dancing in her head, whether compromising or rebellious. I was surprised by the way things end up, by the last twist, but it was a pleasant surprise. This was indeed a great start to be introduce to Mrs Atwood, and I foresee a great deal of her work in my future.