The Year of the Flood and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
Price: £2.81

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading The Year of the Flood on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Year Of The Flood [Paperback]

Margaret Atwood
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.70 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 28 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.49  
Hardcover £12.15  
Paperback £6.29  
Audio, CD, Audiobook --  
Audio Download, Unabridged £6.89 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

29 July 2010

The sun brightens in the east, reddening the blue-grey haze that marks the distant ocean. The vultures roosting on the hydro poles fan out their wings to dry them. the air smells faintly of burning. The waterless flood - a manmade plague - has ended the world.

But two young women have survived: Ren, a young dancer trapped where she worked, in an upmarket sex club (the cleanest dirty girls in town); and Toby, who watches and waits from her rooftop garden. Is anyone else out there?


Frequently Bought Together

The Year Of The Flood + Oryx And Crake
Price For Both: £13.48

Buy the selected items together
  • Oryx And Crake £7.19

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Virago (29 July 2010)
  • Language: Unknown
  • ISBN-10: 1844085643
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844085644
  • Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 3.3 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

** 'A tour de force . . . as pacy as a thriller . . . laced with Atwood's dry wit, and her savage, credible invention (Erica Wagner, The Times )

** 'Atwood knows how to show us ourselves, but the mirror she holds up to life does more than reflect . . . The Year of the Flood isn't prophecy, but it is eerily possible (Jeanette Winterson )

** 'Margaret Atwood has outdone - and outsung - herself this time. The Year of the Flood is at once a solemn praise song to human hope and a dead-serious poke at our capacity for self-destruction . . . Shows Atwood at the pinnacle of her prodigious creative power s' Elle (** ‘A sharp observer of the female psyche . . . Atwood’s richly fertile imagination plays to exuberant and often comic effect’ )

Caroline Moore, Daily Telegraph (** ‘A gripping and visceral book that showcases her pure storytelling talents with energy, inventiveness and narrative panache’ )

Book Description

* A major paperback from one of our great writers:following the first of her speculative fiction, ORYX AND CRAKE

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The future's bleak, the future's Atwood 29 Oct 2009
By BookWorm TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Nobody can write postapocalyptic future fiction like Margaret Atwood. This latest novel covers the same time period as 'Oryx and Crake', and extends beyond it. The setting is an unnamed city - presumably in Canada - in a future dominated by powerful corporations and genetically engineered animals. A plague has wiped out most of humanity, leaving only a few survivors - most of whom were members of the Christain-ecological cult, God's Gardeners. The novel tells the story of two survivors; their histories with the Gardeners, and the trials and tribulations of their existence post-plague.

Some of the characters in the novel, particularly its latter part, also feature in 'Oryx and Crake', and there are some spoilers for that novel. Nevertheless, it would be quite possible to enjoy 'The Year of the Flood' without having read the earlier book, as I can't really remember 'Oryx and Crake' and it didn't affect my understanding or enjoyment of this book.

Atwood has created a frightening plausible vision of the future. She doesn't like the term 'science-fiction' used for her books as she argues all of the technologies and social trends featured in her novels are already in existence, she has just taken them further along their paths. Thus the future she portrays is bleak and morally bankrupt, with materialistic wealth valued above all else and the environment systematically destroyed. It's pessimistic, but it is worryingly realistic at the same time.

The religious cult of God's Gardeners is very thoroughly imagined, with hymns, sermons and a whole host of Saints' days. The interaction between the cult members is well written, believable and often very humourous. Be warned though - Atwood pulls no punches and never shies away from the unpleasant realities of the situations her characters find themselves in. As such it contains some pretty shocking scenes.

The overall effect is a novel which is gripping, compelling, horrifying, and a great read. The plot is better than in 'Oryx and Crake' and has a good narrative pace, and the writing is of the high standard you would expect from a writer of Atwood's calibre. I just hope that her skill as a prophet isn't as great as her talent for writing - or the future is very bleak for all of us...
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
65 of 70 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An Atwood Sequel 24 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
First of all, it should be said that this book is a follow up to Atwood's previous novel 'Oryx and Crake'. Howvever, this book could be enjoyed without reading 'Oryx and Crake' as it's focus is on other characters. Jimmy, Crake (here as Glenn)and a few other characters do feature in this book in lesser roles, but are not the focus. The revlelations at the end of 'Oryx and Crake' would be spoiled if you read this book first. Therefore I would suggest first reading 'Oryx and Crake'.

This is a very solid book that takes our focus to the pleeblands of Atwood's dystopian future world. The 'God's Gardener's' are a cult working against the pollution and over-use of the world's resources while awaiting the great 'waterless flood' that will engulf the world's human population.

Instead of following a single character, Atwood chooses to flip between two members of the cult, Toby and Ren. The story is always pushed forward, however, events are told from one character's perspective or the other. It's a strategy that works quite well and considering how 'Oryx and Crake' was written from a male character's perspective, it's quite welcome to have female perspectives. Atwood, as always, is able to deliver solid female characters that are believable and easy to relate to despite the bizare world she has created around them.

The story is written in parallel to the events of 'Oryx and Crake' and ends not too long after where that book left off. Since the characters are linked in quite strange and unexpected ways to the characters of 'Oryx and Crake', expect to see quite a few of your favourites from that book popping up here as well.

One aspect that I enjoyed less were the frequent sermons given by the 'God's Gardeners' leader, Adam One. These were given at the beginning of each new section of the book and explained the cult's festivals and many many saints giving Atwood the chance to throw in a few 'tongue-in-cheek' references and inject some humour. However, I found them a bit dull and found myself racing through them in order to get back to the story.

If you wanted to know just what happened to Jimmy in the closing paragraph of 'Oryx and Crake' you will be pleasantly surprised by this book. And since Jimmy pops in and out of this story as well, we get to see him from another perspective, that of Ren, the scorned ex-grilfriend!

The book gives the impression that this is not the end of Atwood's dystopia. Atwood has extended the number of characters at her disposal and another book would be quite welcome. I would certainly love to read some more!

While this book is not as far reaching as 'Oryx and Crake' had been, it is still a very good story and a very enjoyable novel. I certainly wasn't able to book the book down. If you didn't enjoy 'Oryx and Crake', perhaps you should give this one a miss, however, if you had an interest in it and want to read on this is a very welcome sequel (of sorts).
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Alison TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
"The Year of the Flood" is an enjoyable and imaginative accompaniment to "Oryx and Crake" with the main focus on the pleeblands and an eco-religious cult known as "God's Gardeners" complete with hymns, sermons and saints' days. The story is told from two perspectives: Toby, a adult female, and Ren, a younger girl.

I read Oryx and Crake some time ago and couldn't remember all the detail so it was nice to revisit the same world. I enjoyed the opportunity to read more of another aspect of the world that Atwood had created and read more about what came before the waterless flood. It was really good fun to read and the only downside for me was the convenience of the latter events of the story.

If you have not already read Oryx and Crake, then I would recommend that you read it before reading The Year of the Flood. There are some cross-overs which would be spoilers if you read Oryx and Crake after reading The Year of the Flood. The Year of the Flood can be read as a standalone book though, you don't have to had read Oryx and Crake first.

As the book is a futuristic dystopia, it may be categorised as 'science fiction' but this is not really sci-fi as the future science is more incidental, it's better categorised as 'speculative fiction'. The book examines more of how life could be in the future and it's often frightening in the sense of the world that Atwood paints is a difficult place full of struggle. I'm going to start building up my ararat (read the book to find out what it is) as soon as possible!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A scarily realistic future
A very interesting idea of how things could turn out if modern society keeps going the way it is! I was intrigued throughout and though I did not want the story to end I couldn't... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Rohan Craven
5.0 out of 5 stars Another brilliant book
I really cared about the people, right to the end. She is such a good writer. I won't give away the ending, but it is fitting and the wheel thing gives food for thought
Published 2 months ago by R. Knowles
4.0 out of 5 stars alternative futures
Interesting alternative futures, with clear links to present day problems and concerns across world. Didn't really care too much about characters though.
Published 2 months ago by Rae Condie
1.0 out of 5 stars Heavy going
Am finding this book really frustrating, there is no 'flow' in the storyline, but for the fact that I've paid for it and feel should persevere (I can only manage a couple of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by H
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking
Another fine novel from Margaret Atwood! This one had me guessing about the direction of the plot until the very end. Read more
Published 6 months ago by M. D. Holley
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourites
I adored Oryx and Crake and didn't want it to end so The Year of the Flood was a dream come true! If she wrote 500 books about these characters I would read them all!
Published 8 months ago by natsy
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the finest Atwood, but still impressive.
Not the best in comparison to the greatness of the Blind Assassin or the Handmaid's Tale but still confirms her to be one of the most intelligent science-fiction writers in western... Read more
Published 8 months ago by A. Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Atwood
As always, it is supremely well written and, being an existing fan of Oryx and Crake, I greatly enjoyed a return to such a disturbing distopian future.
Published 10 months ago by Chris
4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, scary stuff...
First things first - you should probably go and read Ms Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" if you've not already done so. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Stephen Emm
4.0 out of 5 stars More Atwood is good news
I love this book it opened my eyes to how beautiful the 'Green' outlook can be. The focus of the book 'the Gardeners' are a group who value everything God has placed on this earth... Read more
Published 11 months ago by SACB
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Looking for Recommendations - Various Genres 0 25 Mar 2010
Holiday Reading 0 3 Sep 2009
See all 2 discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges