Nothing could’ve stopped the butterflies, or arrested my anxiety. I bought two books for two people, myself and my Mother, and darted up the stairs to the event room. I was number 186, my Mother was 187.
Whenever I intend to read Margaret Atwood, a sudden queue happens – that of Enya. Enya is important to Margaret Atwood is important to me because both artists conjure up strong visions of escape. Enya is my go-to soundtrack for vast icy landscapes, Celtic islands, mysterious deserts and those who I imagine strongest to pass through those places: the medieval women in long robes with knives in their underwear, the Amazonian warrior with spear aloft in praise of a recent victory. Margaret Atwood is my go-to for the origins of those survivalist women. Though her literature does not always deal with a broken bird, her characters are survivors – of society, of themselves (destructive natures), of men, of children, of nature. Ms. Atwood talks a lot about Grimm’s Fairy Tales as an influence, most notably for their leading ladies and the intelligence assigned to them. I am happy to hear this; and reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales conjures a similar feeling and thought when I read Margaret Atwood; that in some distant, parallel or concurrent world, I am reading about someone whose world is magical, whose intelligence overcame adversity, whose strength of character set her free. By the age of twenty, I had read everything of Ms. Atwood’s (save a few collections of poems) and I’ve never gotten her out of my head (if that can be said without sounding like a stalker).
On Sunday, October 4th, Margaret Atwood made an appearance at The Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, Colorado to promote her newest publication titled The Year of the Flood. An expectant and exhiliarated audience gathered in anticipation of her two o’clock arrival at the local independent bookstore; ready to hear and see the woman whose work has meant so much to multiple generations of readers. Ms. Atwood did not disappoint.
Her newest tome delves into the same world as Oryx and Crake but at a different location. Ms. Atwood is adept at taking an assumption, a belief, or an attitude and exploring its depths to the fullest conclusion and furthest implications. In The Year of the Flood she explores a world left without a superfluous human population, scientific explorations including gene-splicing and not-so-organic food and a world where religious sects, once ignored, prove far greater a risk than once assumed. The synopsis in full:
The times and species have been changing at a rapid rate, and the social compact is wearing as thin as environmental stability. Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion, as well as the preservation of all plant and animal life – has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have survived: Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, a God’s Gardener barricaded inside a luxurious spa where many of the treatments are edible.
Have others survived? Ren’s bioartist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Pain-ballers, survivors of the mutual-elimination Pain-ball prison? Not to mention the shadowy, corrupt policing force of the ruling powers.
Meanwhile, gene-spliced life forms are proliferating: the lion/lamb blends, the Mo’hair sheep with human hair, the pigs with human brain tissue. As Adam One and his intrepid hemp-clad band make their way through this strange new world, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move, but they can’t stay locked away.
By turns dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most brilliant and inventive.
With her latest offering comes a thorough and interactive website through which to experience the books’ culture; best of all, a collection of hymns from God’s Gardeners. Set to these tunes, Ms. Atwood explained her story, questions about it and why her books aren’t prophetic, just current axioms taken to their foremost conclusion (take the time to notice what is happening around you.) For instance, regarding The Handmaid’s Tale, she said that she didn’t use anything that hadn’t already happened somewhere in the world (if you’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale that is a frightening statement about our past and current circumstances.) Throughout the presentation, she was intelligent, gracious, witty, funny, and wonderfully magnanimous – even after two hours of signing books – allowing each person the chance to have several signed copies, often with personalizations.
On Friday, October 9th, she will appear at UCLA in Los Angeles.
I’d like to think Ms. Atwood was amused by me as evidenced by her expression (seen only partially above) as seen in the photo above. At this point, we have talked, she has noticed my Mother taking photos and heard her elicit the name of my blog whereby Margaret not only asks if I want to take a picture with her behind the desk (literally right next to her), but also, that she would like me to write down the name of my blog and twitter page. A winning moment. If the celebrated author takes only one glance at my pages, I will have lived a dream.
NO SAINTS IN L.A. 