The Year of the Flood

This book starts well and unfolds in a continuously strong note for about 4/5 of the story as a worthy, interesting follow-on to Atwood's "Oryx and Crake." Set in the Plebelands, it contrasts the lives of the consumers in society with those of the Compound dwellers who make everything that the Plebelanders buy (and who, except for Oryx's stories and a few forays, were the near-exclusive focus of the first book). In contrast to the idyllic lives of the Compound dwellers, the Plebelanders have difficult lives even when relatively well-off. Visibility into these lives in general and the relationship Plebelanders have with the security forces of the corporate pseudo-state in particular help a reader understand the problems present in the world that the earlier tale's plot sought to solve and prevent. Placing the main characters in the context of an environmentalist religion/cult (complete with hymns!) deepens this understanding, as the various sermons of Adam One not only tell of the unfolding of contemporary world events but also of prior happenings that led to the time of the story. It is also fun and fascinating for the main characters to encounter figures from the earlier book, typically in passing and partially or even wholly separated from the contexts in which a readern of that book met and followed them.With the exception of a recurring mispronunciation (which is that the "s" at the end of "CorpSeCorps" should be silent), the narration is quite good. That the hymns are set to music both helps get through what would otherwise have been a tedious recurring recitation of poems and makes the worship experience feel more real.So, why three starts for "The Year of the Flood?" The book is strong for the first 4/5; then, it sputters and drops off quickly, and not for nothing. Atwood takes the encounters of characters from this book from fun to ridiculous: 99.99999% of the human population is dead, but virtually every person named in the life stories of the main characters who has not died before the start of the plague survives it -- and every survivor is someone previously named. Crake was smart enough to outwit the entirety of humanity, but he fooled no one who happened to know Jimmy's high-school sweetheart, who spends most the story pining unrequited love for her former prom date in ways that I found increasingly absurd. Main and secondary characters also suddenly and inexplicably gain incredible prowess -- one who spent the prior months living in a spa building where she was previously the staff manager for several years gains an expert knowledge of tracking, for instance -- and the reintroduction of one side character wearing a bedsheet and sunglasses (as if wearing sheets were somehow a superior form to clothing in general once the world collapses) is done purely for a throwback. The twisted morality of the Gardeners becomes infuriating as the story approaches its conclusion, with a whole group of armed people going off to look for others they have no reason to believe are alive while abandoning to her fate a young woman known to be held as a sex slave by cruel murderers. That this decision is accepted with little objection by the enthralled adherents of the cult leader further underlines just how ridiculous even well-intentioned human attempts at reconciling our nature towards violence can turn out to be, but it is not presented as if Atwood wanted us to reflect on it; instead, it serves simply and solely to set up an implausible end confrontation that unravels the awe of "Oryx and Crake.". The treatment is eerily similar to what Atwood did to "The Handmaid's Tale" when she wrote "The Testaments" a few years back as a sequel, as if the author once held a brilliant insight into human nature that let her envision profound dystopian futures but was later converted to a hopeful faith that drove her to reimagine the dire worlds of her earlier writings as places filled with a modern style of hope in the model of writers like Kim Stanley Robinson (who benefits from writing worlds that were always hopeful).I really liked "Oryx and Crake." Now that I have read "The Year of the Flood," I find it diminished by the latter's ret-conned context, and I don't know if I want to read the fin book in what has nowp become a trilogy; I suspect is has little to offer. If you liked "Oryx and Crake" and want to know more about the world in which it is set, go ahead and pick this up, but drop it around Chapter 50 when Ren decides to change jobs. It's all downhill from there, and further particulars of the dark, damaged world of the first book will be better for staying primarily in your imagination.

I've read this series several times over. The audiobook really brings the story life. Love Margaret Atwood.

I was very disappointed z

Atwood’s tales are gripping and always on point with respect to being relevant criticism of contemporary social (and in this case, environmental) issues. Her prose is ripe with imagery and her characters have fantastic depths, including quirks and foibles. My one and only negative criticism of this audio book is the music for the songs. However, that is simply because I am not a fan of the genre of music that was selected, rather than a criticism of Atwood’s writing of the Lyrics

I found this one slower to get going than the first book, but eventually it got interesting. I was anxious to read the 3rd book upon finishing this one. Liked the narrator a lot! Did NOT care for the songs and sermons.