Introduction

Margaret Atwood's novel "The Year of The Flood" is about a man-made pandemic that annihilates human life. The beginning of the story starts with introducing two people that have amazingly survived this "waterless flood"; Ren and Toby. Both Ren and Toby were part of the Gardener's religious group that once operated out of the "pleeblands". The book jumps back and forth from present to past showing how the two women ended up where they are now. Ren was stuck in high-end sex club, Scales and Tails, and Toby at the AnooYoo spa. As the novel moves into the future, they each leave the building in which they are safe and surviving and meet each other and other survivors from their past life.

The aspects of the novel we want to focus on are the themes religion and science. The terminology and names created and used by Atwood is a point of interest.