Editors Reads Verdict
The most emotionally complete of the three MaddAddam novels — the Crakers, who seemed like a dark joke in Oryx and Crake, become genuinely moving here, and Atwood's vision of what post-catastrophe human community might look like is as dark and funny as anything she has written.
What We Loved
- The Crakers, Crake's genetically engineered humans, become genuinely interesting and moving characters in their own right
- Toby's role as storyteller to the Crakers mirrors the novel's own argument about the necessity of fiction
- The combination of dark comedy and genuine pathos is Atwood at her best
Minor Drawbacks
- Requires having read both Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood to carry its full weight
- Some of the action sequences feel more conventional than the trilogy's best passages
Key Takeaways
- → Stories are how communities transmit what they believe is true about the world — and therefore how they constitute themselves as communities
- → What seems like a joke (Crake's engineered humans without the capacity for racism or war) becomes something stranger and more serious when it is real
- → Every survivor of catastrophe has to decide what to preserve and what to let go — both decisions have consequences
| Author | Margaret Atwood |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Nan A. Talese |
| Pages | 394 |
| Published | September 3, 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Readers who have completed Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood concluding the MaddAddam Trilogy. |
After the Flood
The survivors are assembling. Toby and Ren from the God’s Gardeners, Jimmy (Snowman) from the Paradice Project, a group of former MaddAddamites — the bioterrorists who were Crake’s fellow students — and the Crakers: Crake’s engineered post-humans, who lack the capacity for violence but are filled with curiosity and an urgent need for stories about where they came from and who they are.
MaddAddam is the novel in which the theoretical question from Oryx and Crake — what would it look like if you started human society again, without the parts that cause wars and hierarchies and ecological destruction? — becomes a practical, lived question. The Crakers are sweet, strange, and limited in ways Crake probably did not intend. The human survivors are damaged, resourceful, and not entirely sure they welcome the company.
The Storyteller
Toby becomes the community’s storyteller — the one who answers the Crakers’ questions about the old world and about Crake and Oryx. Her task mirrors Atwood’s: how do you transmit the truth about a destroyed civilisation to people who have never lived in it, in a form they can use? The novel’s answer is that you tell stories, even imperfect ones, and you trust that the stories will carry what is essential.
MaddAddam ends the trilogy with both genuine hope and genuine loss, which is the only ending that would have been honest.
Our rating: 4.3/5 — A complete and emotionally generous conclusion to the MaddAddam Trilogy: dark, funny, and surprisingly moving about the Crakers.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "MaddAddam" about?
The conclusion of the MaddAddam Trilogy — survivors of the waterless flood, including the Crakers (Crake's genetically engineered humans), form an uneasy community. Toby must tell the Crakers stories about the old world as they all try to build something new.
Who should read "MaddAddam"?
Readers who have completed Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood concluding the MaddAddam Trilogy.
What are the key takeaways from "MaddAddam"?
Stories are how communities transmit what they believe is true about the world — and therefore how they constitute themselves as communities What seems like a joke (Crake's engineered humans without the capacity for racism or war) becomes something stranger and more serious when it is real Every survivor of catastrophe has to decide what to preserve and what to let go — both decisions have consequences
Is "MaddAddam" worth reading?
The most emotionally complete of the three MaddAddam novels — the Crakers, who seemed like a dark joke in Oryx and Crake, become genuinely moving here, and Atwood's vision of what post-catastrophe human community might look like is as dark and funny as anything she has written.
Ready to Read MaddAddam?
Check the current price on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Prices and availability are subject to change. See Amazon for current price.
Review last updated: