The singing was way too much. I had to fast forward.
I was eager to listen to this new book, because I had enjoyed Oryx and Crake. I am still listening but I keep wondering why?

I am a huge Atwood fan and have read most of her novels. This was the first that I tried to listen to--"tried" is the operative word here: after about 20 minutes of listening, I became too frustrated with the incorporation of (terrible) music into the narration. I had to stop.

In general, the aesthetic choices are too dramatic for my taste. I listen to books only because I don't have time to read them. As such, I want my listening experience to be as close to a reading experience as possible. I just can't get this from dramatic readings. If you are a purist like me, you will probably not like this audiobiook.

I realize that some narration styles take a while to adjust to, and once you do adjust, it is almost always worth it. I will likely try to listen to this one again in a few months to see if it is less of a challenge. If that doesn't work, I know that Atwood novels tend to be pretty addicting and will just end up buying the book and reading it the old fashioned way.

First, I want to correct my rating to give it 3.5 stars. While I did not enjoy this story as much as Oryx and Crake it was not horrible. The first half is a bit slow going and seems unevenly paced but into the second half the pace picks up considerably and you begin to see more of how this narrative connects to Oryx and Crake.

My biggest issue with (and this could simply be my being too pedantic) is the narrators pronunciation of "CorpSeCorps". Unlike the narration of Oryx and Crake (where the narration uses the correct pronunciation) all three narrators here say Corp-See-Corpse and not Corp-See-CORE as would be appropriate for the description of a Corporate Security Force.

For me, I find a mispronunciation in an audiobook very distracting AND annoying. The music and songs used for the Gardener's Hymnals is definitely cheesy but it feels appropriate in the context of the story and character which does add some depth to Adam One and the Gardeners.

The Year of the Flood is not Atwood's best work (That would be The Handmaid's Tale) and not quite on par with Oryx and Crake but it isn't abysmal by any stretch of the imagination. That said, I do not think it's worth $31.50 at regular price and I'd hesitate to pay the $22.05 member price but the 1 credit spent seems a good compromise for your 14 hour investment.

I am a huge Atwood fan, and have listened to Oryx and Crake at least twice. The reader is good, though I really liked the male reader in O&C a bit more. I enjoyed the connections between the two books, and the different perspective it lends. The music was a bit strange at first, but it does a great job of adding to the "goofiness" of the God's Gardeners (think hippie folksy 70s Christian music), along with Adam One's "sermons". The story tells well, and it has that same Atwood tongue-in-cheek cynical world view. If you liked Oryx and Crake, you'll like this one too. Not a world I'd care to live in, but very thought provoking and engaging.

I kept feeling like I was a block away from Oryx & Crake... It's been quite a while since I read that one and I kept getting the feeling that this story would be much deeper and more interesting if I remembered more of O&C. BIGtime. At least that story seemed to be going somewhere, this one kinda rambled a bit. The characters are kinda interesting but not terribly so. It just seemed like a shadow play off O&C. And the songs were terrible. IF they had been hummed or sung by the appropriate character (a more traditional approach), it would have fallen within the context of the story. As a fully realized musical production however.... it was very jarring and off-putting. I fast forwarded through every one after the first (which kind of defeats the author's intent). Anyway. Not terribly interesting but not horrible, just ok. I feel like I should re-read Oryx & Crake now (which I DID enjoy quite a LOT :)

this book serves as an unauthorized sequell to orxy and crake. some of the loose ends from orxy and crake are tied up with this book.

i found "the year of the flood" to be too coincidental at times. too many pieces that fit together too easily.......too many people who all happened to know each other in a previous time.

I did enjoy the story very much but I absolutely hated the singing parts. Luckily, the audio recording is cued well so you can just skip over them and not miss any dialouge

With great imagination, Atwood creates a world that is scarily recognizable as an all-too-possible future. Drug companies that seed their products with maladies to which only they control the remedies . . . fast food that is no longer recognizable as anything grown from the earth . . . leading to the growth of "fanatic" vegetarian cults . . . Yet, the overall effect of the book was somewhat tedious. The author did not employ her wry humor often enough, and the sections describing life before the "dry flood" felt too long. Disclaimer: I have not read Oryx and Crake, which I now realize is a prequel to this book.

After reading and loving "Oryx And Crake", I was eagerly anticipating the release of "The Year Of The Flood". And happily, I was not disappointed. "The Year Of The Flood" is a companion book to "Oryx And Crake", meaning this story takes place during the same time as "Oryx And Crake". It's not a sequel. Through the stories of Ren and Toby, we learn more about what it was like to live in the pleeblands, outside of the Helthwyzer complex. We also learn about the Gardeners, a cult-like group that has unforeseen influence on the men instrumental to the catastrophe to come (Snowman and Crake).

Why did I rate this only four stars? Because I found the first few chapters very confusing. It took a while for me to figure out what was going on. If this happens to you, don't give up. The payoff is well worth the time and effort. I also found the first half of the book a bit slow. The characters were very interesting, though, and by the time I reached the halfway point, I could not put this audiobook down. I am not sure if Ms. Atwood is planning to write a sequel, but I would love to read it. I'd especially love to read more about Zeb and Adam One and their time at the Helthwyzer complex. Really enjoyed this one!

Agree with the first review by Valerie. The music was awful.

I do not agree with the other reviews though this was a great story. I had a hard time putting it down.

If there were not songs in the book I would give it a 5. But I do not listen to audio books to hear bad singers sing songs.
Other than that it is great.