Also many missing puzzle pieces are revealed, offering a sense of satisfaction while reading the story. They are two very different women with different experiences and life stories, so the reader gets insightful perspectives into the God’s Gardeners community. When it comes to the story per se, I liked how the two perspectives of Ren and Toby complemented each other.

On the other hand, the writing style was different – I think Oryx and Crake was more reflective and sad, while The Year of the Flood was more action-packed. I loved reading this book, a lot more than expected! The first book of the trilogy was good, but the second book … oh my, it was a lot better! On one hand I was more familiar with universe (having the knowledge of the first book), so it was easier to get immersed in the story. Atwood calls it “simultanial” – not a prequel, not a sequel ( NPR, 2020). The Year of the Flood “solves” the cliff hanger of the first book, and it also fills some of the gaps from Oryx and Crake. While the events in The Year of the Flood happen at the same chronological time as the events in Oryx and Crake, it can be seen as a continuation of the first book from the readers’ perspective. Their story is depicted through the eyes of Ren and Toby, two women who survived the Waterless Flood – the pandemic that wiped out most of humanity. They are a peaceful self-sustaining community, with strong focus on environmental topics, eating vegetarian only and living without any technology. The Year of the Flood focuses on a group called the God’s Gardeners. The first book of the series is Oryx and Crake ( my review).

Let’s start with the basics – The Year of the Flood is the second book of the MaddAddam trilogy. Thrilling, moving, and a triumph of imagination, the Maddaddam Trilogy confirms the ultimate endurance of humanity, community, and love.Margaret Atwood – such a joyful presence during the online event! Set in a darkly plausible future shaped by plagues, floods, and genetic engineering, these three novels take us from the end of the world to a brave new beginning. And in Maddaddam a small group of survivors band together with the Children of Crake: the gentle, bioengineered quasi-human species who will inherit this new earth. In The Year of the Flood the long-feared waterless flood has occurred, altering Earth as we know it and obliterating most human life. In search of answers, he embarks on a journey through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. In Oryx and Crake, a man struggles to survive in a world where he may be the last human. Across three stunning novels-Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and Maddaddam-the best-selling, Booker Prize-winning novelist projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

Margaret atwood flood