Novel – 500 pages – my copy (paperback; 2010) bought from Waterstone’s in Plymouth during May 2011
- 2 nods out of 5 -
For those who are regular readers of this blog (there are people out there, aren’t there?!) many of you will know the glowing review the Worm have to Atwood’s Oryx & Crake (read it here: http://4eyedbookworm.blogspot.com/2011/05/oryx-and-crake-margaret-atwood.html): a fantastic piece of speculative fiction. Its world is our possible future, one full of multi-national corporation horror, of technological wonder and human greed. Such was its impression it made No.8 in my list of Top Ten Reads of 2010-11. So, one can understand the trepidation the Worm reserved for the forthcoming read of this (loose) follow-up.
So, the story? The Year of the Flood follows the intertwining stories of two central characters, Ren (first person perspective) and Toby (third person). Their lives are the countdown to the year of the waterless flood that is the virus transmitted throughout the planet that destroys all human life. Both characters become members of God’s Gardeners, a group of ethical hippies who believe there is a different path to the mainstream, with their leader Adam One preaching of impending doom. We read the countdown to the flood and the resulting fall-out in ominous Year Twenty-Five.
Let’s make one thing clear: if anyone is searching for a neat conclusion to the fate that befalls Snowman at the end of Oryx & Crake, you shall be waiting a long time. Despite it being the same dystopian, rather scary vision, The Year of the Flood lacks the heavyweight punch of its predecessor.
Perhaps it is Atwood’s search to find a female counter-part to this vision of a bleak future that means these two characters take such a central stance, with greater emotion away from Crake’s humanity-less vacuum; but nothing can placate the annoyance that is the Ren character (needy, clingy, rudderless), whilst the substitution of Jimmy’s feeling of loss is not offset by that of Toby’s.
But nothing compares with the irritation of the God’s Gardeners group. Slightly kooky and interesting at first with Atwood’s hymns from their very own Oral Hymnbook, the characters displayed are completely hollow and undeveloped. Even Zeb, the hell raiser of the gang, fails to stir any passion; and it is a pity his breakaway sect isn’t looked into with greater detail, including his dalliance with Crake. Every time we are given an insight into the terrifying world of Oryx & Crake, Atwood seems intent on dragging us back to the emotional needs of Ren, or to the cardboard copy bad-guy that is Blanco.
Like Oryx & Crake, this book ends with a cliff-hanger: ‘We listen. Jimmy’s right, there is music. It’s faint and far away, but moving closer. It’s the sound of many people singing. Now we can see the flickering of their torches, winding towards us through the darkness of the trees.’ And despite the previous five hundred pages of slight annoyance and frustration, the Worm will be sure to buy a forthcoming copy of any future follow-up. Atwood is a master at posing questions; and the Worm is eager to find answers.
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Flood-Margaret-Atwood/dp/1844085643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314137559&sr=8-1
Visit Atwood’s website here:
http://yearoftheflood.com/uk/
