Great And Small

"The Garden," God's Gardeners Hymnal

I finished Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood over the weekend and started the third book in the trilogy, MaddAddam.  I stumbled upon these choral arrangements of the poems -- actually hymns -- from the book.

Not to spoil too much, but the most sympathetic group in the novels are God's Gardeners, a kooky but committed group of eco-purists fighting to survive in a dystopic hell where bio-engineering companies have basically taken over the world and ruined the environment.

In an interesting bit of intertextuality, the Gardener's charismatic leader, Adam One, who gives a sermon to begin every group of chapters, has had his words arranged to music.  Great poetry it ain't -- it borders on doggerel, but that's kind of the point.

In the context of the novel however, as the Gardeners fight to survive, it comes across as rather poignant.  Anyhow, it makes for interesting listening on a cold and rainy Daegu Monday.