Rated of 5
by Joanne G. (Kennesaw, GA) A Newbie's Review
I jumped at the chance to preview a book by an author of Margaret Atwood's stature. The Year of the Flood is my first Atwood reading and I'm new to the futuristic genre. It takes a while to get into the flow of the time periods, but narration by Toby and Ren is an effective style to develop the characters and the plot. By the end of the novel, I began to care more about them.
Atwood's scene descriptions are vividly picturesque and coupled with the The God's Gardeners Oral Hymnbook have great cinematic possibilities. I found the futuristic vocabulary more trite than humorous and didn't feel my mind had been expanded into future shock. My conclusion: Ms Atwood lives up to my expectations as a writer but I'd like a more intriguing plot.
Rated of 5
by Sarah W. (Frenchtown, MT) A Small disappointment The Year of the Flood is a futuristic, apocalyptic story with a set of fairly interesting characters. It is a companion novel to Atwood's Oryx and Crake, in that it shares the setting and some of the characters of this earlier novel. While I found Oryx and Crake to be a fascinating and rewarding read, The Year of the Flood was a little harder to get engaged with, and ultimately left me with less of a sense of awe at the author's tremendous imagination. I call it a small disappointment because I hold such high hopes for any novel by this author, but it is a worthwhile book.
Rated of 5
by Colleen T. (Lakewood, CO) Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood has given us both a terrifying and fascinating look at a possible future, one that seems more realistic than the many others that have been written. I could not put it down and the characters are especially endearing.
Rated of 5
by Patricia M. (Highland Heights, OH) The Year of the Flood The Year of the Flood is an interesting look at what would happen if there was a Flood that did not involve water and yet wiped out most of the people on earth. It looks at a variety of issues that would affect the future earth including bioengineering of plants and animals. It is an excellent portrayal of what might be. Science fiction fans will love the future world that is presented. The difficulty is that being able to picture in your mind the genetically spliced animals can become a problem with the way the reader “sees” what he or she is reading. This would be a great movie.
Rated of 5
by Julia H. (Excelsior, MN) The years and years of the flood.
There is no doubt that this a sobering apocalyptic view of some unknown future time, but I think the title was a bit of a misnomer. There is way more than a year covered here and it took me a long time to get into the swing of the story. Both of our main characters, Toby and Ren are telling their tales back and forth throughout twenty-five years of dystopian life with the evil corporation, gene-mutating scientists and a ravaged environment all present. Although Atwood certainly worked hard--there are Adam One's sermons and hymns from the Gardener's Oral Hymnbook reproduced for us, it just wasn't the home run I was hoping for. Try The Handmaid's Tale for a better cautionary view of the future.
Rated of 5
by Lesley F. (San Diego, CA) An Atwood Gardener Sings Praises
I loved The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. With The Year of the Flood I was hooked again by the strong women. A little science fiction, with its mystery and danger, and many Biblical references that are at turns dead on, ironic, or hilarious, made this great fun to read. I loved the references to Saints Jane, Terry, and Farley. I want the soundtrack from the Gardeners' Oral Hymnbook and the edition of "Lives of the Saints", both sure to come out as the following grows.
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of 5
by Joanne G. (Kennesaw, GA) 
of 5
by Julia H. (Excelsior, MN) 
of 5
by Lesley F. (San Diego, CA) 
