The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood
September 2009
448 pages
This is the follow up to Oryx and Crake, although really, it’s not necessary to have read O&C to understand and enjoy YotF. They share a dystopian world, and most of the same characters, but the focus is entirely different.
YotF is the story of God’s Gardeners, a hippy-like cult that eschews the modern world with all of its processed foods and technology and emphasis on wealth and materialism. It focuses on two women who spent part of their lives as Gardeners, Toby and Ren. Although a plague has killed off most of the world, Toby and Ren have both survived. Toby has barricaded herself in the spa she managed, and Ren is locked inside Scales and Tails, a club where she was a trapeze dancer. YotF goes back in time to tell both women’s stories, from the time they found themselves part of God’s Gardeners, up to the Waterless Flood, when the world began to die around them.
So how do the two books compare? Well, they’re both great stories in their own rights, but I prefer O&C. Maybe it’s because at that point, the world was new to me. Atwood certainly doesn’t spend time re-explaining things, but she does spend a lot of time creating the God’s Gardeners, complete with songs and sermons from their leader, Adam One. And honestly, I just wasn’t that into those parts of the book. But Toby and Ren’s stories were compelling, and as usual with her dystopian novels, Atwood succeeds in a creating a creepy not-impossible future.
She also left the ending open enough to continue with this world…I wonder if she’ll be writing more about Toby and Ren and the Snowman and the Crakers.
But wait! Did you buy this one? Aren’t you worried abt the FTC?
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I need to read something else by Atwood. I had issues with The Handmaid’s Tale and I wonder if a different book would work better. I’ve wanted to read Oryx & Crake for awhile.
I have to be in just the right mood for Atwood, so I haven’t read as many of her books as I might like. The Handmaid’s Tale is a fave, and I liked The Robber Bride even more. These are on my radar–just waiting for that best moment to pick ‘em up.
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Sounds like a great book, I have not read either sadly!
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I wondered what you would think of this one. I liked both this and O&C but feel Atwood is sometimes heavy-handed with her political opinions. For me it takes away from the story.
I hear there is a third book in the works!
You felt about this book EXACTLY as I did! I also liked O&C better.
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I love Atwood, but something about this one didn’t grab me as much as some of her other work. I also read Oryx & Crake first and felt like some of the newness of the world had worn off. I wonder how readers of The Year of the Flood would feel about it if they hadn’t read the books in that order… maybe whichever you read first, you’ll like better?
I feel like I am one of the last people to read Atwood (except for the Penelopiad)! I have Blind Assassin on my shelf, but haven’t read it yet. I must, I must, I must! Seems like everyone really likes her, which I feel is rare with dystopian writing.
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I’ve been wondering if I should read Oryx and Crake before I read this! Thanks for your review.
Seems like we had opposite feelings about the two! I preferred this one over O&C but both were great in their own right. I’m super excited to see if Ms. Atwood comes out with another installment. . . I’ll definitely be on the list for it!
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I definitely want to read both of these books. I love dystopian novels.
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I didn’t realize that the two books were related. I think that I will read Oryx and Crake first then if it will give me reicher knowledge of all the characters and the world.
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It sounds like we felt much the same way about this one! Atwood’s amazing imagination always has me in awe – so clever and yet her writing doesn’t feel over the top to me (although I do wish she had ditched the hymns in this one!).
I’m on the fence about reading these books … the premise sounds so goofy when everyone describes it. But perhaps it works better in the book…
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I have to read books by her…i feel ashamed that i have nt read anything by her YET!
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I just finished Oryx and Crake and loved it. I have been excited about reading this one too. I might wait a bit so that when I do read it, the dystopian world feels somewhat new again. Thanks for the review!
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I enjoyed O&C but I have been on the fence about whether or not to read this one. I think I am just a little burned out on dystopian fiction right now.
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I have yet to read Atwood. There. I said it out loud. I want to just havent yet but always find myself drawn to the reviews of her books…. like a moth to the flame…
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I loved The Handmaid’s Tale and I’ve been wanting to read another Atwoood book. I’ve been thinking of picking up this book, but maybe I’ll start with O&C.
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