Oryx and Crake & The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood

[Dosed]

I've just finished reading TYotF by Margaret Atwood which is the sequel to Oryx and Crake.

I found the first one way more interesting simply because of the main character, Jimmy. I found his fight for survival way more interesting and the first novel just seemed to have better pacing than the sequel. I liked the fact that he was kind of a jerk but you still wanted him to succeed and survive. I think it helped that the first book was also more focused on simply the present Jimmy and the past Jimmy, unlike the sequel which jumped around between Ren, Toby and Adam's sermons. I think there was a better distinction between the two states of the character, and these past and present chapters helped to illustrate a better sense of character growth.

Ren and Toby seemed a bit stale in comparison to Jimmy. Adam One's sermons were both excruciating and thought provoking, and provided an interesting perspective of what it must be like to hold a religious faith. His sermons confused me slightly (not being of any religious faith) and I did wonder how any one could hold maintain these belief systems so strongly even in the face of death. Although, I guess that's what faith is for; something to bolster the spirit in times of great struggle. I also found his poetry very beautiful (they were some of my favourite parts of the novel) and they helped me to consider some of humanity's attitudes to the Earth and the environment.

I think it's a shame that I struggled with the second book so much as I really liked the first one. Atwood seems to be very hit and miss for me. I really, really, really liked The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale by her and I thought she'd have nailed the whole dystopian thing by now.. but this one let me down. I also think I would have found it more interesting if one of the different narratives focused on the Crakers a bit more as they seem like one of the more unique aspects of this world.

Both books do cover incredibly interesting topics and Atwood mentions in the acknowledgements section that while the books are fictional a lot of it is based in reality. It's terrifying to think about the utterly disgusting disregard that gigantic corporations have for fellow human beings and the environment, and just how far people are willing to go for wealth and power. It's amazing to think that the economical and social structures which support this destructive culture have survived this long and these novels made me think about how long they can continue.

Anyway.. what did everyone else think of these novels? Has anyone even read them? What does everyone else feel about Jimmy, the Crakers, Ren and Toby? Has anyone else found anything they like by Atwood?

[Argobot]

The only Atwood books I've read were The Handmaid's Tale (which I loved) and The Blind Assassin (which I think is actually the better of the two books.) I haven't tried to read her more recent stuff is because its mostly gotten lukewarm reviews. Maybe I'll give Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood a shot though.

[Chris]

I loved Oryx & Crake. I didn't actually realize there was a sequel.

[SuperHarman]

Yeah, I thought Oryx and Crake was great but wasn't as impressed with Year of the Flood. It's been a couple of years since I read both now so my comments may be a little lost in parts but I felt that Atwood approached the subject with a very curious eye, these books almost seem a reply to all those claiming that The Handmaids Tale is a work of science fiction which is another argument entirely, part of it being that Atwood seems to hate labels often placed on her.

I think it is like you said, O&C works better because the characters are stronger, while I thought that some of the stories were compelling in Year of the Flood, overall it just seemed to make the world smaller. It's an issue that post-disaster fiction often has where by coincidence, characters that knew each other prior both survived and run into each other later. Atwood does have a skill though of creating a well drawn environment, everything in the lead up to the disaster feels like the end of days but also feels so close to reality and I appreciated her fleshing out the world she had created a little more. The issue there was that by the end, I wasn't so sure I needed that world to be explored more than it was in O&C.

I am always interested in the more literary take on post-apocalyptic fiction like these, The Road and The final two parts of Cloud Atlas. I'd also suggest Paul Auster's In the Country of Last Things which felt more like The Road in the way it avoids the cause.

[miffy495]

I've read Handmaid's Tale, which is great, and have been meaning to read Oryx and Crake and Year of the Flood for forever. Actually going to see Atwood give a talk next Thursday, so good timing on this thread!

[Dosed]

Yeah, I liked that in O&C that the characters from before the plague were only alive in Jimmy's mind, and you could see him slowly losing his mind as he became more and more desperate. The Year of the Flood just had way too much coincidental occassions of characters surviving who knew each other. I also didn't feel any where near as much emotional shock when

Oates was hanging in the tree

as when

Jimmy shot Crake; the abruptness at which happened made my jaw drop, and I thought it was very clever of her to insert that scene where she did because it just came out of nowhere and highlighted the lengths Jimmy was willing to go to survive.

The world was definitely well crafted and I didn't really mind knowing the cause, but the second novel took the sting out of the plague

because so many characters we know survive.

[SuperHarman]

Yeah, like I said it has been a couple of years now so my memory is a little hazy but that is generally how I felt for the most part. The book felt a little unnecessary and yet, I remember enjoying parts of it, particularly what I think was a vegetarian cult, but I could be mistaking that.

[Corelli]

I loved Oryx & Crake. I didn't actually realize there was a sequel.

Yeah I liked it a lot too. I have the sequel sitting on my desk and I've never got around to reading it, maybe now is the time!

[Irishjohn]

I loved both books. I can see why one would enjoy Oryx and Crake more though, it did feel like a standalone book. Honestly, except for the cliffhanger ending (and really, that only comes from the last couple of pages) I prefer the idea of the book being a story all of its own. It's difficult to think of how I would find the sequel if I could take it on its own merits, but I can't really; it's a continuation of a book I really, really enjoyed and that had a major impact on getting me back into reading literature regularly. Ultimately The Year of the Flood will be judged once the trilogy is finished.