The Bibliophile's Compass

1969 The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood - CAN The novel that put the bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments on the literary map. The Booker Prize winner's first novel is both a scathingly funny satire of consumerism and a heady exploration of emotional cannibalism. 1998 The Ice People by Maggie Gee - UK ⭐⭐⭐ ( My Review ) Set in the near future, The Ice People imagines an ice age enveloping the Northern Hemisphere. It is Africa’s relative warmth that offers a last hope to northerly survivors. As relationships between men and women break down, the novel charts one man’s struggle to save his alienated son and bring him to the south and to salvation. 2019 Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - US ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ( My Review ) A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentione...

Title : The Year of the Flood Author : Margaret Atwood Publication Year : 2009 Pages : 431 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Awards : longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award; shortlisted for the 2010 Trillium Book Award; banned by Orange County Public Schools The Year of the Flood, book two in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, picks up where Oryx and Crake left off—but don’t expect more of Snowman’s lonely end-of-the-world brooding. This time, the spotlight shifts to God’s Gardeners, a green-thumbed religious sect, and a new batch of apocalypse survivors. So much for Jimmy the Snowman being the last human standing! (Honestly, I was rooting for a truly exclusive end-of-the-world club, but Atwood clearly had other plans.) As the trilogy unfolds, the connections between the books become a puzzle worthy of a literary scavenger hunt. Tracking references, piecing together overlapping timelin...

Title : Oryx and Crake Author : Margaret Atwood Publication Year : 2003 Pages : 389 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Awards : shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction Source : eBook Opening Sentence: Snowman wakes before dawn. He lies unmoving, listening to the tide coming in, wave after wave sloshing over the various barricades, wish-wash, wish-wash, the rhythm of heartbeat. He would so like to believe he is still asleep. Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” is the first book in the MaddAddam Trilogy. This post-apocalyptic novel follows Snowman (also known as Jimmy) as he navigates a world where humanity as we know it has vanished. The only beings left that resemble humans are the Crakers—genetically engineered creatures created by Jimmy’s brilliant but mysterious friend, Crake. I’d had this book on my TBR list for ages, but finally picked it up thanks to a b...