The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - 2009 Dec
Meeting:
We met at the Natural Start Bakery near Mission/Hamilton. Really good location, and you can reserve the top floor for things like...a book group! I got there 15 minutes late as a result of driving directly from Seattle post-Christmas celebration, but they were kind enough to wait. Despite the fact that we had picked these dates 2 months ago, only two other girls (Megan and Jessica) showed up, and nobody else let us know they weren't coming...weird. Holiday bustle, I guess. So I didn't get the green tea I was craving, but next time I WILL! We had a lot to talk about for this book. It presented much more tangible topics than The Devil in the White City. One thing I remember was strong disagreements surfacing regarding the male characters. After reading this book, I assumed that the male characters were mistakenly one-dimensional, or left mysteriously unfinished in an attempt to shift focus to our two "heroines". But both Megan and Jessica have read Atwood before and know that she is a bit of a feminist, and that this specific inattention to detail is likely deliberate and a usual pattern for her. I wonder how my second reading of this literature, especially in regards to males, would feel in comparison. But that wasn't the big debate...I found no sympathy with the males. I found them careless and hypocritical, wheras another member found a few to be likable (Zeb in particular because he seemed "protective"). These are the reasons why I love meeting with these girls. It's so wonderful to hash out some new perspectives and change your opinion (like I did about one-dimensional guys in this lit...I think I get it now and am excited for more Atwood!). Another topic was the organization. I'm not sure the other two enjoyed Adam One's sermons as much as I did. Megan did look up all of the saints mentioned and came up with some interesting results via Google. I didn't even think of it (not like me at all). I find if I want to look things up online it's because I'm bored out of my mind at a book, or so enthralled by it I don't have time to put it down at all. The Year of the Flood fell into the latter category. Jessica had great topics of discussion. We talked for awhile about the environmental aspects and whether or not it should affect our lives. We also wondered aloud at the state of the world and whether or not we would get to this point (in our lifetimes or past them). We didn't talk as much as I had anticipated about the ending. There, again, we disagreed a bit. It was found to be unfinished in one's eyes, and in another's a satisfying and hopeful conclusion. But we all agreed on one thing: we are fascinated by the blue people and hope that they are a substantial part of Oryx and Crake.
Final:
I refused to go first, but I had decided to give this book an 8 out of 10 before anyone else spoke. We had another 8 and a 9.5. On this we all agreed: a GREAT book!
Next:
Well...we don't exactly know. Since there were only three of us (and one won't even live in the states for the next meeting) we felt uncomfortable picking the next book for all. We have three on the list that I will post separately. I'll keep them on the TO READ list until we've checked them off!
Showing posts with label Margaret Atwood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Margaret Atwood. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Reading The Year of the Flood
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - 2009 Dec
Reading:
I finished this book in days. Maybe the cold weather contributed (fireplace + white tea + blanket = book!), but I just flew through this one. The story is a post-apocalyptic (or maybe just apocalyptic, depending on your outlook) setting years in the future, when "the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability". Atwood tells the story of two women who have a past connection to a very active and rigid green organization and their struggle with coming to the fact that the rest of the human population just might be extinct. So we bounce between past and present and between our two women (Ren and Toby). Decidedly unlike The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, these women have a solid overlap to justify writing them into the same book...not just that they happened to be in the same city during a fair (see previous post regarding that). We also get a bonus...a third perspective from a spiritual environmentalist who has turned eco-friendliness into a religion. The Tolkein-like "poems" I noted upon finding this book are actually songs, and I hear that there is actually a recording. I love the interactivity that idea presents. I hope they're huge "O Fortuna"-style choral arrangements. But I doubt it. I definitely intend to find the CD at some point.
This book is probably not something I would pick up off of the shelves based on the jacket summary, but the cover art is a bit more intriguing, I suppose. Anyway, I really found myself focusing in on Ren. The jacket summary describes her as a "young dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails", so obviously that's why I connected with her (kidding). I think it may have been that we are just closer in age. I'm curious to see which woman each book club member latched onto. I didn't look up one word during this novel. I found its syntax and vocabulary to be very tangible and accessible despite the otherworldly setting. But the author did create words. Toby, for example, is trapped in a spa called AnooYoo. There are gene-splices proliferating in this world, such as a liobam (lion+lamb, to force the scriptural prophecy) and the rakunk (racoon+skunk, I think?). This deliberately-dumbed wordplay is sprinkled through the novel and after awhile I took pride in the fact that they did not trip me up and I was able to immediately discern new combinations. So that made up for the fact that my dictionary didn't have to be close at hand (something I usually despise in any lit).
I am undecided about how the environmental aspect affected me. I try to be "green", but not when it affects my budget. Organic foods with completely recycled/recyclable packaging might be okay with your wallet, but mine would throw a fit. There are obviously lessons to be learned in this book, which is why I'm excited for our group meeting to flesh that particular opinion out. These types of books with overt discussions are great for our group. We'll likely be saving the big spiritual/religious/sexuality/apocalyptic/the point to life/etc. topics for further down the road haha
Despite the gloomy outlook, the novel's end is decidedly positive. That caught me by surprise. The female characters were really colorful and dimensional, but I lacked that clarity and exploration in any male counterpart. I guess the mystery of those gentlemen is intriguing, but I definitely avoided investing in them after it became apparent that I would never know an answer (it's probably a tough balance to achieve, and one that translates into acting, I imagine).
I got on Amazon to read the summary, and in reviews I saw words like "masterpiece" thrown around in relation to Atwood's other works, so I wonder if that's true. I'm definitely going to get into her other titles and make up my own mind about that lofty claim. I would bet, though, that masterpiece might be just the word to describe this book.
Reading:
I finished this book in days. Maybe the cold weather contributed (fireplace + white tea + blanket = book!), but I just flew through this one. The story is a post-apocalyptic (or maybe just apocalyptic, depending on your outlook) setting years in the future, when "the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability". Atwood tells the story of two women who have a past connection to a very active and rigid green organization and their struggle with coming to the fact that the rest of the human population just might be extinct. So we bounce between past and present and between our two women (Ren and Toby). Decidedly unlike The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, these women have a solid overlap to justify writing them into the same book...not just that they happened to be in the same city during a fair (see previous post regarding that). We also get a bonus...a third perspective from a spiritual environmentalist who has turned eco-friendliness into a religion. The Tolkein-like "poems" I noted upon finding this book are actually songs, and I hear that there is actually a recording. I love the interactivity that idea presents. I hope they're huge "O Fortuna"-style choral arrangements. But I doubt it. I definitely intend to find the CD at some point.
This book is probably not something I would pick up off of the shelves based on the jacket summary, but the cover art is a bit more intriguing, I suppose. Anyway, I really found myself focusing in on Ren. The jacket summary describes her as a "young dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails", so obviously that's why I connected with her (kidding). I think it may have been that we are just closer in age. I'm curious to see which woman each book club member latched onto. I didn't look up one word during this novel. I found its syntax and vocabulary to be very tangible and accessible despite the otherworldly setting. But the author did create words. Toby, for example, is trapped in a spa called AnooYoo. There are gene-splices proliferating in this world, such as a liobam (lion+lamb, to force the scriptural prophecy) and the rakunk (racoon+skunk, I think?). This deliberately-dumbed wordplay is sprinkled through the novel and after awhile I took pride in the fact that they did not trip me up and I was able to immediately discern new combinations. So that made up for the fact that my dictionary didn't have to be close at hand (something I usually despise in any lit).
I am undecided about how the environmental aspect affected me. I try to be "green", but not when it affects my budget. Organic foods with completely recycled/recyclable packaging might be okay with your wallet, but mine would throw a fit. There are obviously lessons to be learned in this book, which is why I'm excited for our group meeting to flesh that particular opinion out. These types of books with overt discussions are great for our group. We'll likely be saving the big spiritual/religious/sexuality/apocalyptic/the point to life/etc. topics for further down the road haha
Despite the gloomy outlook, the novel's end is decidedly positive. That caught me by surprise. The female characters were really colorful and dimensional, but I lacked that clarity and exploration in any male counterpart. I guess the mystery of those gentlemen is intriguing, but I definitely avoided investing in them after it became apparent that I would never know an answer (it's probably a tough balance to achieve, and one that translates into acting, I imagine).
I got on Amazon to read the summary, and in reviews I saw words like "masterpiece" thrown around in relation to Atwood's other works, so I wonder if that's true. I'm definitely going to get into her other titles and make up my own mind about that lofty claim. I would bet, though, that masterpiece might be just the word to describe this book.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Finding The Year of the Flood
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood - 2009 Dec
Finding:
I went to a locally owned bookstore this time
(Auntie's, on Main & Washington). It temporarily satisfied my need to support local business. This bookstore is never short on old-world charm and solid advice from employees, which I love. (Is it 4 stories? 5??) I found out that the book is only in hardback now, which bummed me out. I try to buy paperback...don't ask me why, ask my wallet. It was published in September 2009, so on the upside there are many on the shelves. Jessica is facilitating December, and I expected 3 classics to choose from. Initially, I was sad we weren't delving into old lit, but after her 3 summaries I was really excited about our choices. I was pleased with the choice of this book in particular, since I had heard of the author (Margaret Atwood). I know she wrote Oryx and Crake, but that's all I could tangibly come up with. This book is supposedly an independent follow-up. In the store, there were several titles on the shelves and I learned this author is quite prolific. That makes me happy; if I like this book, I have a large authorial library to delve into later on. I was also quite excited because I really enjoy dystopian themes...for some maniacal end or other. The book itself is quite large, but the print is absolutely huge. During my usual preliminary flip-through, I noted a lack of illustrations (as the child in me cried), but format suggests several poems or songs a la Tolkien...
I am SO excited about this book, I'm going to get started asap!
Finding:
I went to a locally owned bookstore this time
(Auntie's, on Main & Washington). It temporarily satisfied my need to support local business. This bookstore is never short on old-world charm and solid advice from employees, which I love. (Is it 4 stories? 5??) I found out that the book is only in hardback now, which bummed me out. I try to buy paperback...don't ask me why, ask my wallet. It was published in September 2009, so on the upside there are many on the shelves. Jessica is facilitating December, and I expected 3 classics to choose from. Initially, I was sad we weren't delving into old lit, but after her 3 summaries I was really excited about our choices. I was pleased with the choice of this book in particular, since I had heard of the author (Margaret Atwood). I know she wrote Oryx and Crake, but that's all I could tangibly come up with. This book is supposedly an independent follow-up. In the store, there were several titles on the shelves and I learned this author is quite prolific. That makes me happy; if I like this book, I have a large authorial library to delve into later on. I was also quite excited because I really enjoy dystopian themes...for some maniacal end or other. The book itself is quite large, but the print is absolutely huge. During my usual preliminary flip-through, I noted a lack of illustrations (as the child in me cried), but format suggests several poems or songs a la Tolkien...I am SO excited about this book, I'm going to get started asap!
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