I thoroughly enjoyed this novel of an alternate reality set in the not so distant future. Its steadily building narrative reads like a chronicle as it slowly reveals the story of the Gardeners, a quasi-religious group that has decided that living "green" is the answer to a disintegrating society. What makes this novel come alive are the distinct personalities of the Gardeners and Atwoods detailed depiction of a society in the process of destroying itself from within.

Year of the Flood reads like the middle book of a trilogy (I haven't read Oryx and Crake which came before) but holds up on its own. I don't think it will appeal to everyone, too little overt action, but I gave it four stars for an absorbing story well told.

Roberto Saviano takes us into the underworld of Naples by infiltrating the operations of the Camorra. The majority of this book is an exposé on clan dealings and clan wars - think The Godfather or the Sopranos but more vicious and intense. The chapter on the Secondigliano War (the bloody Camorra turf war) is extremely graphic.

I was most interested when Saviano talked about Naples’ ports, China’s ties with the black market fashion industry in Italy and the illegal dumping of toxic waste, but these topics are covered only in the first and last chapters. Everything in between is soaked in violence. While the author does try to penetrate the criminal psychology of the Camorra, it is the brutality that will stay in your mind.


I’m glad I read Gomorrah for what I learned, but it was far too violent for my taste.