It’s not a huge secret I didn’t love Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam. I wanted to, but I just couldn’t connect with the story. And this disconnect has happened before with other books. I sure couldn’t stand Terry Pratchett’s Snuff when I tried to read it the first time. But, then I listened to Snuff and a book I wanted to jump up and down on became well…not so bad. So when I was at the Berlin Peck Memorial library last week and saw the audiobook of MaddAddam I added it to my pile and brought it home. Now I am fortunate to have a job where I can listen to audiobooks and podcasts all day long as I plug away at my work. And Monday morning I popped in MaddAddam and started to listen. Would the audiobook trick work again?

Having finished up MaddAddam yesterday I can say for me…MaddAddam works so much better as an audiobook versus the book I spent all that time tracking down in September. Unless I’m crazy, the audiobook seems to get rid of the prologue summing up the events from Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood that so many people didn’t like. Bernadette Dunne returns as Toby and there is just something about her voice that makes Toby’s “ZOMG does Zeb wub me?” seem less outtakes from <shudder> Bridget Jones. And she’s able to make the subtle shift in her tone to convey the experience of telling stories to the Crakers something you picture right down to the face she makes when given the undercooked fish. Bob Walter portrays Zeb and has just the right blend of smart/schemer/trickster to bring Zeb into 3-D. And Robbie Daymond as Toby’s shadow aka the small Craker boy Blackbeard turns that character from an annoying device to an interesting character who makes some of the more bizarre elements of the plot just that much more believable.

The audiobook version of MaddAddam isn’t perfect. I’m still missing the stories that haven’t been told. And some parts of the plot still have me rolling my eyes and almost snorting out bits of chocolate on the keyboard while they unfold. But it’s a good companion to the previous MaddAddam trilogy audiobooks and sure makes the hours fly by.