A Weekend Reading Update and the Science Fiction Novel - Margaret Atwood

It's been a cool, breezy entrance to the weekend today. Still lovely bright and sunny mind you. I posted my Friday musical 3-pack on my Facebook page this morning I started doing it at the beginning of January, for something a bit different, I guess. Today's 3 songs were by girl rock bands, or at least bands fronted by women in some cases. Jo called them my 'angry' girl rock band selections. The songs and bands were -

a. Friends - I'm His Girl
b. The Mysterines - Who's Ur Girl and
c. The Donnas - Fall Behind Me

I finished another book yesterday, the 2nd in my March focus challenge, standalone books by C.S. Forester. I'll update that plus the next Forester book in my cue. I'll also update a book I received in the mail yesterday. And then I'll continue with my look at the Sci-Fi novel.

New Books

1. Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #4).

" Literary detective Thursday Next is on a mission - and it's not just a mission to save the planet. If only life were that simple...

Unemployed following an international cheese-smuggling scandal, our favourite cultural crime-fighter is faced with a world of problems: Hamlet's not attending his conflict resolution classes, President George Formby is facing a coup led by dastardly Yorrick Kaine and, what's more, the evil Goliath Corporation are refusing to un-eradicate Thursday's husband, Landen.

Will she ever see Landen again? Is shopping the new religion? Can Thursday prevent Armageddon? And who will babysit her son while she does it?

Join Thursday on her toughest assignment yet, and enter a world where fiction is always much stranger than the truth..."

Just Finished

1. The Pursued by C.S. Forester (1935).











"I've read and enjoyed many books by C. S. Forester, his Horatio Hornblower books, The African Queen, and various standalone books, including The Ship and 2 mysteries. The Pursued was discovered after Forester's death, even though it was originally written in 1935.

Marjorie lives with husband Ted and their two children, Anne and Derrick, in London, down the road from Marjorie's mother, Mrs. Clair and her sister, Dot.  Marjorie comes home from a night out with an old friend to find her sister dead, her head in the gas oven. Mrs. Clair and Marjorie eventually come to the belief that Dot and Ted had been having an affair and that Ted had killed her, making it seem like a suicide.

Through the remainder of the story, Mrs. Clair plots her revenge against Ted. Ted is an arsehole. He is mean to his wife and kids and he cheats on Marjorie. Amongst other things. Marjorie has grown to hate her husband over the course of their marriage. At Mrs. Clair's subtle instigation, she falls in love with George Ely, an employee of Ted's and a young man who moves into Mrs. Clair's home, renting the room that had belonged to Dot.

The tension builds, as George falls more and more in love with Marjorie but is frustrated because she can't leave Ted. Mrs. Clair plots and twists and turns, manipulating Ted and the others until the final violent conclusion. It's a fascinating, at times frustrating, story. It builds slowly, falls back at times, then lurches forward. It's peopled with interesting characters, especially Mrs. Clair, steely, calm and dedicated to avenging her dead daughter. (4 stars)"

Just Started

1. The Captain from Connecticut by C.S. Forester (1941).










"In his only novel about the American sailing navy, C.S. Forester describes the exploits of a typical U.S. frigate cruising at sea during the War of 1812. Its captain, Josiah Peabody, demonstrates the revolutionary virtues of a new democracy fighting for its survival against an overwhelmingly superior British navy. During his daring voyage from Long Island Sound to the Caribbean, Peabody and his crew manage to outrun, outfox and outmaneuver their clumsier opponents and deal them some shrewd blows in the process. At the same time, Peabody wins the affections of the same lady admired by the captain of a British warship."

The Science Fiction Novel - Margaret Atwood's Dystopic View of the Future

Margaret Atwood

Canadian author Margaret Eleanor Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1939. She is a prolific author of fiction, poetry, criticisms and Sci-Fi, just to name a few. Over the course of her career (since 1961) she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction etc etc. I did say she was prolific. I was first introduced to her writing during my university days, when I took a Canadian Fiction course. The novel we took was Surfacing (1972) one of her first fiction novels. I then tried The Edible Woman (1969) and a book of her poetry, The Circle Game (1964). It wasn't until 1985 or so that I tried her again, this time her dystopic novel, The Handmaid's Tale. I've discussed this book previously in my Sci-Fi thread, back in January, when I first highlighted Dystopic Futures specifically. You can read that at this link.

After reading The Handmaid's Tale a few times I began to explore more of Atwood's works, The Blind Assassin (2000) and The Penelopiad (2005). But what really caught my attention was her Maddaddam trilogy, which portrayed a post-apocalyptic vision of the world after a disaster. As per most trilogies, I preferred the first and third books, although the second book was still very interesting. Let's take a look at them.

a. Oryx and Crake (Maddaddam #1 / 2003).











"Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining." (4 stars)

b. The Year of the Flood (Maddaddam #2 / 2009).

"In this second book of the MaddAddam trilogy, the long-feared waterless flood has occurred, altering Earth as we know it and obliterating most human life. Among the survivors are Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Amid shadowy, corrupt ruling powers and new, gene-spliced life forms, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move, but they can't stay locked away." (3 stars)

c. Maddaddam (#3 / 2013). My favorite of the three. So good.











"It's been a long while between reading the first two books in this trilogy; Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. Looking back at my reviews, I can see I didn't write much in those days. I think I was somewhat disappointed with the 2nd book, Year of the Flood, but isn't that often the way with the 2nd books of trilogies? 

So what did I think of MaddAddam? Well, to put it simply, I loved it and even shed a tear or two at the end. It was a fantastic finish to this journey of a group of people trying to survive the end of the world (basically, anyway, as the gist is that Crake caused a virus to sweep through the world and kill off most of mankind). 

This story is basically written by Toby, one of those wonderful characters you meet in the best of books, a strong woman, trying to survive, to help keep her group together and help it build up humanity once again. The story itself contains stories within stories; Zeb, her lover, telling Toby of his life and how he got to where they now find themselves; and Toby, taking on the story-telling roll of Snowman-the-Jimmy to the new race, the Crakes. As well, this mixed group of humans, Crakes and, even the Pigoons (mutant pigs) must try to prevent the Painballers (a group of psychotic killers) from hurting them anymore. 

I loved the characters, Toby being my favourite, but also Zeb, Ren, Blackbeard and so many others. It's a heartfelt story and gets better as it moves along. Hoping I don't ruin it, but the ending is positive and, even with some sadness, I left it with a happy, hopeful mood. Definitely worth 5 stars."

Atwood has just recently written a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments (2019). I'm a bit hesitant to buy it. I fear it might be like To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. I enjoyed TKaM so much that it was difficult for Watchman to live up to it. I think I will eventually get Testaments but not quite right now. 

You should try Atwood even if you aren't a Sci-Fi fan as she is a talented author. Have a great weekend.