We like Jonathan Lethem and Margaret Atwood, two authors of “serious” fiction who write science-fiction. Atwood took umbrage when The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake were described as science-fiction novels; she preferred the term “speculative fiction”. Sounds like a duck to us.
MaddAdam, available at National Bookstores, hardcover, Php1099.
The only Atwood we’ve read is The Handmaid’s Tale, which we looked up for its weird sex scene. MaddAdam is the third part of a trilogy whose first two books we have not read. Aaargh, we’re behind already. We know we have Margaret Atwood fans amongst us—tell us why you love her.
From our readers:
balqis: The first two books of the MaddAddam trilogy did not have such impact on me as her other novels did, like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blind Assassin, Alias Grace, or The Edible Woman, but they are still worth reading especially if one is curious as to why Atwood insists on calling some of her work speculative fiction. Oryx and Crake is chillingly prescient: several of the scientific breakthroughs “made up” in the novel have been recently actualized and could eventually be old hat for us. The Year of the Flood feels a bit contrived–at the “end” of the world the people who already know each other are the only ones who remain. Both books still retain a sense of irony that is clearly Atwoodian. I know I’m being vague but I just want to promote her ha ha. But for instance, in TYOTF, she gives focus on God’s Gardeners (an eco-religious group first appearing in Oryx & Crake) and treats their philosophy/doctrine/way of life ambiguously: Atwood is either sneering at their (virtual) fanaticism or applauding their concern for the environment. Or maybe she’s doing neither. Or both.
lestat: I don’t read science fiction often, not because I hate it but because I prefer non-science fiction, but I read Oryx & Crake a long time ago not knowing what it was about and realized it’s a funny sci-fi novel. I loved it, made me want to read sci-fi, pero yung ganung level lang.
wenkebach: I like Atwood because when she writes, she takes the reader to her imagined worlds. I also like the way her writing has a certain rhythm to it. I can’t quite explain it, but some writers are easier to read than others—Atwood belongs to such a category.
Read their full answers in Comments. Thanks for the backgrounders! Let us know what books you’d like to review for us and we’ll get copies for you.
The Penelopiad, Php475 at National Bookstores.
We’re a fan of Canongate’s The Myths series, in which well-known authors retell myths from around the world. The Penelopiad is the story of Penelope, wife of Odysseus. Odysseus is famous for his wiles, his cleverness, his service in the Trojan War and his fantastical ten-year trip in The Odyssey. Penelope is famous for being his faithful wife, waiting patiently in Ithaca for her husband to return. Surely there was more to her than that.
Dissident Gardens, Php1125 at National Bookstores.
As She Climbed Across the Table, Motherless Brooklyn, Fortress of Solitude, we loved. You Don’t Love Me Yet, we’ll probably never love. Chronic City we haven’t finished, although we envy the character who writes the liner notes for the Criterion Collection. Dissident Gardens, we’ll see.
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