The Year of the Flood
By Margaret Atwood
Vintage, 2010, 448pp.
The Short of It:
This is the second book in a trilogy. Much easier to consume than book one due to its difficult content.
The Rest of It:
Atwood is such a force. She’s created this world where everything has gone to hell and man, it’s so fitting for our times.
In this installment, we learn more about the different communities that resulted after the pandemic that took the world by storm. There are Gardeners, extreme Vegans who grow their food on rooftops and the worst of the worst, the folks that have been imprisoned and escaped only to cause havoc in a land without protection.
In this installment, we learn more about the Crakers, who were introduced in Oryx and Crake. These people are a mild people who live their lives happily, often singing, and procreating. Yep. They are bio-engineered and when the women are ripe, they turn blue which signals the Crakers to gather with their swinging blue appendages (take a guess here) and then a foursome is chosen to continue the human race. This is a bizarre practice and wild to read about.
While the Crakers are running around singing and carrying on, the Gardeners find themselves a target because of their resiliency and food supply that others so desperately want. Plus, it’s a lawless society. Women are taken and abused repeatedly and often left for dead. The Gardeners are forced to move in order to save their own.
In this installment, we begin to see the origins of Oryx and Crake. How Oryx created all the animals, including the violent Pigoons, but are they really violent, flesh eating creatures or are they too, just trying to survive? Crake’s power is explored but the idolatry that folks had for him begins to crack as people come together and share their own stories of the land before.
The Year of the Flood really solidified my love for Atwood. As soon as I finished, I immediately picked up book three, MaddAddam. I should have that review up soon.
Highly recommend if you can get through book one, Oryx and Crake. You must read these books in order or you will be lost.
Source: Borrowed
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Book Chatter 
Wow these books have really captured your attention. Glad they have you on a roll with your reading.
The first book was so hard to get through. It’s heavy on the topic of sex trafficking of children. But now that I am nearly done with the last book in the trilogy it’s all coming together.
Hmmm….not sure these books are for me. I’ll think about it and likely wait until I hear what you think about the 3rd.
Like Kay, I’m not sure these books are for me. I know I read the first many years ago, but I’ve completely forgot the plot.
I’ve seen a few people reading this trilogy. Atwood is amazing, but I am finding that, right now, I need more uplifting books. I’m not even reading thrillers, which I usually love.
The first book in this trilogy was sooooo hard to read. Child sex trafficking. And this administration with all this BS. Too on the nose. But the other books really get into it.
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I haven’t decided if I can read the first given the subject matter and my childhood, but I love that you are enjoying the journey.
The first one is really hard but this is one trilogy where it won’t make sense unless you read all of them.
Wow you really liked book 2. I have not attempted it after book 1. I’m not sure I’ll go back for these. But I am enjoying hearing about them from you. Is there a main character in the Year of the Flood? Like one of the Gardeners or the Crakers?
Yes, Toby and Ren. Two female Gardeners but we learn more about some of the characters from Oryx. It really comes together. I am very glad I read them all.