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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
MAGGIE U MAKE ME SO UNHINGED how am i to think about anything else now?
This was so fucking perfect
Its like if you threw spagettie at the wall and it look like a bug mess of lots of spaghetti at first and then you realised it was all one perfect single strand of spaghetti that maggie a left for you
'But compassion takes work, and we were young.'
'Maybe sadness was a kind of hunger, she thought. Maybe the two went together.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THAT???
HOW AM I MEANT TO GO ABOUT MY DAY
NOW MAGGIE???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
swaggie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
libt11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, and War
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I found The Year of the Flood to be overall underwhelming. It’s a sort of prequel/sequel/adjacent story to Oryx and Crake. It failed to offer the same scientific intrigue as the first book set in this world. Instead, there were environmental preachings through the facade of a religious cult which included feast day sermons and hymns. The characters remained interesting, but the plot development was so slow, and I don’t feel this book added much to the world.
The Year of the Flood follows two women who were part of the same religious cult called God’s Gardeners. The Gardeners warned about the coming of the second flood – this time, an invisible flood instead of a physical one. They also encouraged their practitioners to be vegan and to learn and practice things in a more organic, earthy way. Toby began her life outside the Gardeners and was brought to them, while Ren was with them most of her childhood, then left.
The pacing is a real struggle because there is so much lead up to the actual time with the Gardeners. The first 15% or so of the book could have been cut entirely. In fact, most of the book is backstory on the women to show how they got where they are. In Oryx and Crake, this made more sense because Jimmy’s story showed the coming of the true dystopia as he watched things come together and then fall apart. Here, it’s almost fan fiction. The women on their own are intriguing enough, but because we already know so much of the world, their own stories don’t add anything. They’re also contrasting romantic/sexual stories… sort of. One is of hiding and eventually vengeance against a man who repeatedly raped one of them, the other of a broken heart.
What bothers me the most about the two weaving storylines – other than the complete lack of momentum – is that neither is really resolved. Even though things happen, they weren’t dramatic enough to offer a true sense of closure. And the frequency of which both men intertwined within each of the women’s lives called out too many coincidences for me. I know a story like this isn’t meant to be realistic, but generally speaking the world should press on the unbelievable, not the plot.
The Year of the Flood required a lotto patience. Oryx and Crake did too, but I at least felt that the book delivered on some level. The Year of the Flood doesn’t deliver anything worth your time, but it does describe repeated rape, infidelity, drug use, gruesome murders that exist for no reason, and more.
Give it a pass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Cannibalism
sophie_63's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment
andhe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence