The Year of the Flood

Atwood's Year of the Flood is quite possibly the best book I have ever read. Her characters are very much alive, real, and compelling, the plot is easy to follow. Even the poems and songs between chapters are almost worth reading on their own. But more than all of that, Atwood truly seems to see into the future, tracing out trends in our society, and especially in our treatment of the environment, that make for a dystopian vision so close to reality that in The Year of the Flood's prequel, Oryx and Crake, it is hard to truly separate its events from events in society today. The Year of the Flood is a must-read for anyone who considers themself and environmentalist, a feminist, or is in any way interested in biotechnology. I'm a major fan of dystopias, and have never encountered one that hit so close to home.