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When the Floods Came
A taut, gripping novel set in the future, when the lives of a family existing on the margins of a dramatically changed society are upset by a mysterious stranger.
In a world prone to violent flooding, Britain, ravaged 20 years earlier by a deadly virus, has been largely cut off from the rest of the world. Survivors are few and far between, most of them infertile. Children, the only hope for the future, are a rare commodity.
For 22-year-old Roza Polanski, life with her family in their isolated tower block is relatively comfortable. She's safe, happy enough. But when a stranger called Aashay Kent arrives, everything changes. At first he's a welcome addition, his magnetism drawing the Polanskis out of their shells, promising an alternative to a lonely existence. But Roza can't shake the feeling that there's more to Aashay than he's letting on. Is there more to life beyond their isolated bubble? Is it true that children are being kidnapped? And what will it cost to find out?
Clare Morrall, author of the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Astonishing Splashes of Colour, creates a startling vision of the future in a world not so very far from our own, and a thrilling story of suspense.
Biographical Notes
Clare Morrall's first novel, Astonishing Splashes of Colour, was published in 2003 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize that year. She has since published the novels Natural Flights of the Human Mind, The Language of Others, The Man Who Disappeared, which was a TV Book Club Summer Read in 2010, The Roundabout Man and After the Bombing.
Born in Exeter, Clare Morrall now lives in Birmingham. She works as a music teacher, and has two daughters.
In a world prone to violent flooding, Britain, ravaged 20 years earlier by a deadly virus, has been largely cut off from the rest of the world. Survivors are few and far between, most of them infertile. Children, the only hope for the future, are a rare commodity.
For 22-year-old Roza Polanski, life with her family in their isolated tower block is relatively comfortable. She's safe, happy enough. But when a stranger called Aashay Kent arrives, everything changes. At first he's a welcome addition, his magnetism drawing the Polanskis out of their shells, promising an alternative to a lonely existence. But Roza can't shake the feeling that there's more to Aashay than he's letting on. Is there more to life beyond their isolated bubble? Is it true that children are being kidnapped? And what will it cost to find out?
Clare Morrall, author of the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Astonishing Splashes of Colour, creates a startling vision of the future in a world not so very far from our own, and a thrilling story of suspense.
Biographical Notes
Clare Morrall's first novel, Astonishing Splashes of Colour, was published in 2003 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize that year. She has since published the novels Natural Flights of the Human Mind, The Language of Others, The Man Who Disappeared, which was a TV Book Club Summer Read in 2010, The Roundabout Man and After the Bombing.
Born in Exeter, Clare Morrall now lives in Birmingham. She works as a music teacher, and has two daughters.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 11, 2016
About the author
Clare Morrall
18 books88 followersMan Booker Prize shortlisted Clare Morrall shot to fame in a true to life rags-to-riches story when her novel ‘Astonishing Splashes of Colour’ and her tiny, unknown publisher became front page news after the shortlisting. Later novels have featured on TV Book Club, Front Row and Woman’s Hour on Radio Four and Radio Three, along with the sale of film and foreign rights. She has been awarded an honorary Doctorate for Literature by Birmingham University and is a regular judge for the Rubery Book Award.
Based in Birmingham where she continues to teach music, she originally grew up in Devon. Her adult daughters are also novelists. Alex Morrall’s ‘Helen and the Grandbees’ is due for publication in 2020. Heather Morrall writes teenage novels. Clare spends her spare time gardening and on cryptic crosswords and sudoku.
*Portrait painted by award-winning artist Robert Neil, PPRBSA
Based in Birmingham where she continues to teach music, she originally grew up in Devon. Her adult daughters are also novelists. Alex Morrall’s ‘Helen and the Grandbees’ is due for publication in 2020. Heather Morrall writes teenage novels. Clare spends her spare time gardening and on cryptic crosswords and sudoku.
*Portrait painted by award-winning artist Robert Neil, PPRBSA
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
March 7, 2016
This was well on its way to a 4 star review but the ending was rushed and predictable. I was hoping for something more unusual that matched the tone of the rest of the book. Too much was left unanswered.
October 12, 2017
Ahoy there mateys! This was a random find in a local library that I just had to pick up. Why? Because I love post-apocalyptic stories that deal with climate change. As the title suggests, this one deals with flooding. The bonus was that it was written by a British writer. I love to read other countries takes on climate change.
Side note: This book was referenced as Cli-Fi in an article. That term cracks me up!
The story centers around Roza Polanski and her family living in an abandoned building in Birmingham. A virus has devastated the population and flooding has led to the ruination of most population centers. There is a small government in Brighton. Having been there, this fact entertained me to no end. Technology is slowly failing due to lack of maintenance and the number of people is in steady decline due to virus related fertility issues. The people that do exist are in the later stages of life and there are not many children or teens.
Roza's parents are one of the few couples to remain fertile and had four children. Her childhood is a seemingly happy one despite the family's isolation. The children are fed, loved, fairly healthy, educated, and safe. Roza is set to be married soon and life seems to be headed towards a hopeful future. However, one day a stranger named Aashay appears in their lives. His presence brings a fresh perspective on the state of the world to the Polanskis and leads them away from their isolation. But can they trust this stranger in their midst and retain their safety?
The world building was me favorite part of the novel. I loved the images of riding bikes on abandoned highways, how the flooding cycles through, the family's resourcefulness and intelligence, and above all the inter-family relationships. It was wonderful to see a family who was supportive and cared for each other.
The plot was more problematic for me. Aashay is charming and mysterious and not very forthcoming with his past. The family is seemingly charmed by him and suspicious of him the whole time. I got somewhat annoyed by the waffling which, to be fair, is a pet peeve of mine. There is some suspense in the second half of the novel which was extremely fun but overall the later portion of the book along with the ending was unsatisfying. Too many unanswered questions.
I was mostly confused by how an intelligent family could waffle so much about Aashay. Can charm really go that far? Well apparently the author wrote about that based on her own experiences. An article from The Independent says "Take Aashay Kent, the novel’s ambiguous male lead and dead-ringer for Epstein’s Lucifer. 'I became interested in the concept of charm,' Morrall says, offering as an example one of her daughter’s ex-boyfriends. 'One in particular was quite an intriguing man we were all charmed by. Then you realise, bit by bit, there was quite a nasty underside to him. Then he comes bouncing back with a great big grin. The bizarre thing is you know what you see is not the reality, and yet the way this charisma works is you are drawn back into it.'”
Very interesting. The novel was a solid read even if I had some problems with it. Ultimately I am glad I read this book and would read other works by the author.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
Side note: This book was referenced as Cli-Fi in an article. That term cracks me up!
The story centers around Roza Polanski and her family living in an abandoned building in Birmingham. A virus has devastated the population and flooding has led to the ruination of most population centers. There is a small government in Brighton. Having been there, this fact entertained me to no end. Technology is slowly failing due to lack of maintenance and the number of people is in steady decline due to virus related fertility issues. The people that do exist are in the later stages of life and there are not many children or teens.
Roza's parents are one of the few couples to remain fertile and had four children. Her childhood is a seemingly happy one despite the family's isolation. The children are fed, loved, fairly healthy, educated, and safe. Roza is set to be married soon and life seems to be headed towards a hopeful future. However, one day a stranger named Aashay appears in their lives. His presence brings a fresh perspective on the state of the world to the Polanskis and leads them away from their isolation. But can they trust this stranger in their midst and retain their safety?
The world building was me favorite part of the novel. I loved the images of riding bikes on abandoned highways, how the flooding cycles through, the family's resourcefulness and intelligence, and above all the inter-family relationships. It was wonderful to see a family who was supportive and cared for each other.
The plot was more problematic for me. Aashay is charming and mysterious and not very forthcoming with his past. The family is seemingly charmed by him and suspicious of him the whole time. I got somewhat annoyed by the waffling which, to be fair, is a pet peeve of mine. There is some suspense in the second half of the novel which was extremely fun but overall the later portion of the book along with the ending was unsatisfying. Too many unanswered questions.
I was mostly confused by how an intelligent family could waffle so much about Aashay. Can charm really go that far? Well apparently the author wrote about that based on her own experiences. An article from The Independent says "Take Aashay Kent, the novel’s ambiguous male lead and dead-ringer for Epstein’s Lucifer. 'I became interested in the concept of charm,' Morrall says, offering as an example one of her daughter’s ex-boyfriends. 'One in particular was quite an intriguing man we were all charmed by. Then you realise, bit by bit, there was quite a nasty underside to him. Then he comes bouncing back with a great big grin. The bizarre thing is you know what you see is not the reality, and yet the way this charisma works is you are drawn back into it.'”
Very interesting. The novel was a solid read even if I had some problems with it. Ultimately I am glad I read this book and would read other works by the author.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
July 15, 2016
"When the Floods Came" is a tightly woven mix of suspense, mystery and intrigue set in a Britain ravaged by flooding, its population decimated by the deadly Hoffman virus. Among the survivors are the Polanskis an educated and talented family who's lived for 20 years in the heart of England isolated from the outside world in a high rise flat named after the American State of Wyoming.
Twenty-two year old Roza Polanski's future looks promising, working online for the TU a Chinese -owned company, and looking forward to marriage to a brilliant scientist in Brighton. But her world is shattered after she discovers not only a new drawing of a black and white cat on a doorway during her family's "Stair Game" but a mysterious stranger hiding on the "Bicycle Floor." In a riveting story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat Roza and her family's safe and secure life is ruptured by a threat and promise of violence that they'll have to confront to escape.
Clare Morrall builds a future world marred by a shortage of food supplies, destroyed buildings and a lack of people as well as violent weather and flooding. Although the Polanzkis are comfortable with chickens and a goat sheltered on the roof of the tower block the atmosphere becomes unpredictable, apprehensive and forbidding with the appearance Aashay Kent, a magnetic and charming but ominous young man who avoids being questioned. With children a valuable commodity because of the loss of fertility "post-Hoffman", the Protectorate in Brighton enforces a law that all young people must marry by age twenty-five. For Roza that has meant finding a suitable partner online, someone she respects and cares for until Aashay's arrival rips apart the fabric of her family's life.
Cleverly the author creates an imaginative and riveting plot building tension with the threat implied by innocent drawings of a black and white cat, nursery rhymes that amplify the family's emotions and fears and Hector's determination, anxiety and struggle as he cycles cross-country to claim his bride. The story heats up with a trip to the Fair where the family 's eyes are opened to the perils of the outside world and a past wrong that could cost them a child. Even the growing attraction between Roza and Aashay is hampered by sinister lies, secrets and their clash of wills. With twists and turns that keep you guessing the plot progresses quickly and smoothly to a violent confrontation and a rescue that leaves more questions than answers.
Among a host of complex and realistic characters that add high-energy, excitement and passion to the story are Roza the oldest Polanski child, a translator with an intuitive mind who's clever, resourceful and irrevocably drawn to the electrical chemistry she shares with Aashay; Boris her strong, good-humored but restless brother; Delphine her complaining, self-absorbed sixteen year old sister; and confident, trusting but spirited seven year old Lucia. Yet it's the controlled, secretive, arrogant and aggressive Aashay Kent who adds a menacing chill to the story.
I loved "When the Floods Came" a well-written, haunting dystopian tale of mystery and intrigue that I couldn't put until finished. I recommend it highly and will look for a sequel.
Twenty-two year old Roza Polanski's future looks promising, working online for the TU a Chinese -owned company, and looking forward to marriage to a brilliant scientist in Brighton. But her world is shattered after she discovers not only a new drawing of a black and white cat on a doorway during her family's "Stair Game" but a mysterious stranger hiding on the "Bicycle Floor." In a riveting story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat Roza and her family's safe and secure life is ruptured by a threat and promise of violence that they'll have to confront to escape.
Clare Morrall builds a future world marred by a shortage of food supplies, destroyed buildings and a lack of people as well as violent weather and flooding. Although the Polanzkis are comfortable with chickens and a goat sheltered on the roof of the tower block the atmosphere becomes unpredictable, apprehensive and forbidding with the appearance Aashay Kent, a magnetic and charming but ominous young man who avoids being questioned. With children a valuable commodity because of the loss of fertility "post-Hoffman", the Protectorate in Brighton enforces a law that all young people must marry by age twenty-five. For Roza that has meant finding a suitable partner online, someone she respects and cares for until Aashay's arrival rips apart the fabric of her family's life.
Cleverly the author creates an imaginative and riveting plot building tension with the threat implied by innocent drawings of a black and white cat, nursery rhymes that amplify the family's emotions and fears and Hector's determination, anxiety and struggle as he cycles cross-country to claim his bride. The story heats up with a trip to the Fair where the family 's eyes are opened to the perils of the outside world and a past wrong that could cost them a child. Even the growing attraction between Roza and Aashay is hampered by sinister lies, secrets and their clash of wills. With twists and turns that keep you guessing the plot progresses quickly and smoothly to a violent confrontation and a rescue that leaves more questions than answers.
Among a host of complex and realistic characters that add high-energy, excitement and passion to the story are Roza the oldest Polanski child, a translator with an intuitive mind who's clever, resourceful and irrevocably drawn to the electrical chemistry she shares with Aashay; Boris her strong, good-humored but restless brother; Delphine her complaining, self-absorbed sixteen year old sister; and confident, trusting but spirited seven year old Lucia. Yet it's the controlled, secretive, arrogant and aggressive Aashay Kent who adds a menacing chill to the story.
I loved "When the Floods Came" a well-written, haunting dystopian tale of mystery and intrigue that I couldn't put until finished. I recommend it highly and will look for a sequel.
February 8, 2017
A surprisingly whimsical take of the apocalypse: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2...
Clare Morrall is an author who I keep meaning to investigate further - the only book of hers which I have read is The Roundabout Man, which was evocative but still left me feeling faintly dissatisfied. I keep meaning to check out Astonishing Splashes Of Colour, which I know is Morrall's best known work but until the TBR Mountain subsides slightly, my curiousity is destined to remain unfulfilled. With When The Floods Came though, I feel that I have caught more of a glimpse of Morrall's creative power however, with an apparently worn-out concept - a post-apocalyptic world - set out in one of the most low-key and muted interpretations that I can ever imagine. Fans of Station Eleven are likely to find this a book to enjoy, but it still has a particular flavour of nostalgia for childhood and lost innocence which was one of the most effective aspects of The Roundabout Man. This feels like a very British take on the end of the world.
Roza Polanski is twenty-two years old and lives in a flat near to her parents. She has a job that she enjoys and a lovely fiancé. She has two sisters, Delphine and Lucia, as well as a brother, Boris, all of whom she clearly adores. Her parents, Popi and Moth, are loving and the family are close. Roza has never met anyone of her own age, her only interactions with her betrothed, Hector, have been via his hologram. She is employed online by the Chinese and recompensed with food and medical supplies. She has set the computer in her flat to having a macho voice because she enjoys telling him to shut up. The family live in a tower block in the ruins of Birmingham, the only residents left. Britain has been ravaged by both a sketchily described pandemic, Hoffmans, and then severe flooding. The summers are too hot, the winters severe and the storms potentially deadly. But all this happened twenty years previously - the past as her parents knew it is a foreign land to Roza and beyond grieving over.
The Polanskis have led an isolated existence all of these years, doing their work online, refusing all requests to move to Brighton, where the government is now situated after floods decimated London. They are cocooned in their own little world, their conversation peppered with nursery rhymes, keeping to family traditions and playing games. I was reminded strongly of the Clock family in The Borrowers. Outside the tower block, Popi has laboured for twenty years on a huge statue of a young girl, originally modelled on Roza although she is no longer sure if this is the case. The statue remains incomplete, echoing Roza's feeling of not being quite a grown up, even in her twenties. Moth and Popi were hippies back in the day, protesting against the pollution which seems to have caused the flooding and the two of them chafe against the government intervention which their children accept as a matter of course. Roza's upcoming wedding is set to happen in Brighton, with Delphine and Boris set to join her there as she starts married life, meaning that family are approaching a crossroads.
When The Floods Came is a coming of age tale above anything. Roza has been stealing away to explore the abandoned buildings around the city and a particular favourite is the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. One day, when she is gazing at Jacob Epstein's statue of the Archangel Lucifer, she sees Aashay. Like Lucifer, he is young and handsome and beautiful - he is also the serpent entering the Garden of Eden. Questions swirl around him immediately. How long has he been watching the Polanskis? What does he want? What does he know that they do not? Can he be trusted? Strangely, for a character who never seems to be convincingly speaking the truth, the naive Polanskis invite him into their snug little world, believing themselves too careful to be hurt. Roza marvels more than once at how his charm manages to persuade them to keep him around even though they know full well that he is lying. One senses that Morrall herself is fascinated by people like Aashay, the slippery eels who deal in secrets and tell naught but lies but who still come up smiling nonetheless. Aashay invites the family into a brand new understanding of the world they live in, one beyond the approved paths laid out by the government in Brighton. There are the fairs, technically illegal but allowing people to congregate and make connections. Roza finds herself caught between her affection for the safe, loving clownish Hector and the flesh and blood charms of Aashay, the first man she has ever seen. While her family assume her to be immune, Roza is unnerved by how he seems to watch her. She is Eve, wondering whether or not she can take the risk of pulling down an apple from the tree of knowledge.
Innocence is a huge theme of When The Floods Came, particularly so given that the second wave of Hoffmans failed to kill but left its survivors infertile. Humans younger than twenty are an endangered species and young people are a precious commodity. This is particularly poignant for the Polanskis, whose youngest child Lucia is aged seven and thus especially prized. However, the open secret is that she is their second Lucia, since the first died in an accident, leaving the family prostrated with grief. When a lost little toddler waif washes up in one of the floods, Moth scooped her up and brought her home in so decisive a manner that Roza admits that weeks go by when she herself forgets that Lucia is not the original. Yet this deliberate forgetting does not seem to have bled through to Lucia herself, who one senses has uncertainties about her place in the family. When the family visits the fair, they realise quite how desperate the hunger has become for children and there are disturbing intimations of a possible underground trade in children which rumble beneath the surface of the story.
I found this a thought-provoking point - do people really feel that they have a 'right' to children? I have read articles written by people complaining that they had not had their longed-for daughter, one in particular made much of how they were 'in business' and so were 'used to getting what they want'. What did these hungry would-be parents hope to gain from snatching Lucia from her family? Aashay refers to the Polanskis at one point as Lucia's 'owners' rather than her parents, clearly seeing her as a commodity rather than a child. I have thought this myself when I see children called by what I think of as 'baby' names - as in, names that would not suit an adult - to what extent do parents look at their baby and see a doll which they have produced rather than a budding human who will one day grow up?
Morrall conjures up so many wonderful images in this novel - the family cycling along the motorway, avoiding the abandoned cars. Moth and Popi having to spend three days during Roza's childhood going round the tower block switching off all of the moving photographs to save power. The horror as Roza looked at a family in the fair and recognised their hair colour. Most poignant of all was perhaps the fate of Hector - somehow I always knew that he and Roza were never going to have their wedding. When The Floods Came some how manages to make the dystopian seem everyday, that a world where one keeps a goat and some hens in a tower block in Birmingham could truly seem familiar. Like Station Eleven, Roza's world is concentrated on the practicalities, but the Polanskis have somehow passed through the pandemic, the floods, the collapse of society, all of it, without ever losing sight of what time someone is expected home, what the family will have for tea, the standards of behaviour which they expect from their children. Only with the arrival of Aashay do they have to start thinking about how on earth they are going to survive.
Like The Roundabout Man, When The Floods Came still feels slightly incomplete. There was resolution and there was understanding but having drawn out this world, I was left feeling that Morrall had not quite explained it. What did the incomplete statue of the girl truly mean? Had Aashay spoken any truth at all? There was hanging threads. Also, despite Roza's naivete, I still struggled to keep patience with her and I am not sure I quite warmed to her as a protagonist. Like Quinn of The Roundabout Man, I have a feeling that I was supposed to sympathise with Roza as being a misfit, but her family seemed too tightly knit for her to ever feel like a loner, despite her isolated state and instead I felt frustrated with her inability to face reality. My attention was caught far more by the notion of Birmingham gone wild, the floods, the barren motorways - for me, in many ways the plot of When The Floods Came was drowned out by its setting which has remained in my mind far more than any of the characters.
Clare Morrall is an author who I keep meaning to investigate further - the only book of hers which I have read is The Roundabout Man, which was evocative but still left me feeling faintly dissatisfied. I keep meaning to check out Astonishing Splashes Of Colour, which I know is Morrall's best known work but until the TBR Mountain subsides slightly, my curiousity is destined to remain unfulfilled. With When The Floods Came though, I feel that I have caught more of a glimpse of Morrall's creative power however, with an apparently worn-out concept - a post-apocalyptic world - set out in one of the most low-key and muted interpretations that I can ever imagine. Fans of Station Eleven are likely to find this a book to enjoy, but it still has a particular flavour of nostalgia for childhood and lost innocence which was one of the most effective aspects of The Roundabout Man. This feels like a very British take on the end of the world.
Roza Polanski is twenty-two years old and lives in a flat near to her parents. She has a job that she enjoys and a lovely fiancé. She has two sisters, Delphine and Lucia, as well as a brother, Boris, all of whom she clearly adores. Her parents, Popi and Moth, are loving and the family are close. Roza has never met anyone of her own age, her only interactions with her betrothed, Hector, have been via his hologram. She is employed online by the Chinese and recompensed with food and medical supplies. She has set the computer in her flat to having a macho voice because she enjoys telling him to shut up. The family live in a tower block in the ruins of Birmingham, the only residents left. Britain has been ravaged by both a sketchily described pandemic, Hoffmans, and then severe flooding. The summers are too hot, the winters severe and the storms potentially deadly. But all this happened twenty years previously - the past as her parents knew it is a foreign land to Roza and beyond grieving over.
The Polanskis have led an isolated existence all of these years, doing their work online, refusing all requests to move to Brighton, where the government is now situated after floods decimated London. They are cocooned in their own little world, their conversation peppered with nursery rhymes, keeping to family traditions and playing games. I was reminded strongly of the Clock family in The Borrowers. Outside the tower block, Popi has laboured for twenty years on a huge statue of a young girl, originally modelled on Roza although she is no longer sure if this is the case. The statue remains incomplete, echoing Roza's feeling of not being quite a grown up, even in her twenties. Moth and Popi were hippies back in the day, protesting against the pollution which seems to have caused the flooding and the two of them chafe against the government intervention which their children accept as a matter of course. Roza's upcoming wedding is set to happen in Brighton, with Delphine and Boris set to join her there as she starts married life, meaning that family are approaching a crossroads.
When The Floods Came is a coming of age tale above anything. Roza has been stealing away to explore the abandoned buildings around the city and a particular favourite is the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. One day, when she is gazing at Jacob Epstein's statue of the Archangel Lucifer, she sees Aashay. Like Lucifer, he is young and handsome and beautiful - he is also the serpent entering the Garden of Eden. Questions swirl around him immediately. How long has he been watching the Polanskis? What does he want? What does he know that they do not? Can he be trusted? Strangely, for a character who never seems to be convincingly speaking the truth, the naive Polanskis invite him into their snug little world, believing themselves too careful to be hurt. Roza marvels more than once at how his charm manages to persuade them to keep him around even though they know full well that he is lying. One senses that Morrall herself is fascinated by people like Aashay, the slippery eels who deal in secrets and tell naught but lies but who still come up smiling nonetheless. Aashay invites the family into a brand new understanding of the world they live in, one beyond the approved paths laid out by the government in Brighton. There are the fairs, technically illegal but allowing people to congregate and make connections. Roza finds herself caught between her affection for the safe, loving clownish Hector and the flesh and blood charms of Aashay, the first man she has ever seen. While her family assume her to be immune, Roza is unnerved by how he seems to watch her. She is Eve, wondering whether or not she can take the risk of pulling down an apple from the tree of knowledge.
Innocence is a huge theme of When The Floods Came, particularly so given that the second wave of Hoffmans failed to kill but left its survivors infertile. Humans younger than twenty are an endangered species and young people are a precious commodity. This is particularly poignant for the Polanskis, whose youngest child Lucia is aged seven and thus especially prized. However, the open secret is that she is their second Lucia, since the first died in an accident, leaving the family prostrated with grief. When a lost little toddler waif washes up in one of the floods, Moth scooped her up and brought her home in so decisive a manner that Roza admits that weeks go by when she herself forgets that Lucia is not the original. Yet this deliberate forgetting does not seem to have bled through to Lucia herself, who one senses has uncertainties about her place in the family. When the family visits the fair, they realise quite how desperate the hunger has become for children and there are disturbing intimations of a possible underground trade in children which rumble beneath the surface of the story.
I found this a thought-provoking point - do people really feel that they have a 'right' to children? I have read articles written by people complaining that they had not had their longed-for daughter, one in particular made much of how they were 'in business' and so were 'used to getting what they want'. What did these hungry would-be parents hope to gain from snatching Lucia from her family? Aashay refers to the Polanskis at one point as Lucia's 'owners' rather than her parents, clearly seeing her as a commodity rather than a child. I have thought this myself when I see children called by what I think of as 'baby' names - as in, names that would not suit an adult - to what extent do parents look at their baby and see a doll which they have produced rather than a budding human who will one day grow up?
Morrall conjures up so many wonderful images in this novel - the family cycling along the motorway, avoiding the abandoned cars. Moth and Popi having to spend three days during Roza's childhood going round the tower block switching off all of the moving photographs to save power. The horror as Roza looked at a family in the fair and recognised their hair colour. Most poignant of all was perhaps the fate of Hector - somehow I always knew that he and Roza were never going to have their wedding. When The Floods Came some how manages to make the dystopian seem everyday, that a world where one keeps a goat and some hens in a tower block in Birmingham could truly seem familiar. Like Station Eleven, Roza's world is concentrated on the practicalities, but the Polanskis have somehow passed through the pandemic, the floods, the collapse of society, all of it, without ever losing sight of what time someone is expected home, what the family will have for tea, the standards of behaviour which they expect from their children. Only with the arrival of Aashay do they have to start thinking about how on earth they are going to survive.
Like The Roundabout Man, When The Floods Came still feels slightly incomplete. There was resolution and there was understanding but having drawn out this world, I was left feeling that Morrall had not quite explained it. What did the incomplete statue of the girl truly mean? Had Aashay spoken any truth at all? There was hanging threads. Also, despite Roza's naivete, I still struggled to keep patience with her and I am not sure I quite warmed to her as a protagonist. Like Quinn of The Roundabout Man, I have a feeling that I was supposed to sympathise with Roza as being a misfit, but her family seemed too tightly knit for her to ever feel like a loner, despite her isolated state and instead I felt frustrated with her inability to face reality. My attention was caught far more by the notion of Birmingham gone wild, the floods, the barren motorways - for me, in many ways the plot of When The Floods Came was drowned out by its setting which has remained in my mind far more than any of the characters.
May 23, 2019
The best description of this book i can give you is simply one word:
Boring.
There, now you dont have to read my follow up rant.
When the Floods Came is a lackluster story set in a world with endless potential. While I would like to give you a description of the book, i can't because nothing in particular happens. It's not really about anything at all! Our set up was promising; the main character, Roza, lives in an almost dystopian future where the population of England has been all but wiped out by a virus. The virus made survivors mostly infirtile and there are little to no chikdren. Roza's engaged to marry a man she has never met to comply with government law (but she likes the man) and suddenly a strange man appears. They ride bikes and suspect things and then it ends. And that- unfortunately - is the entire book. Just explaining their origins. Oh and also they go to a fair (where they explain the premise some more).
The only somewhat interesting events begin to happen around 200 pages in, over half way. And when things do happen, many of the important things happen away from Roza, our eyes into the world. We are told things happened rather than them happening in time with the story. Its like when a movie tells you a fight happened 5 minutes ago but you dont get to watch it. You just know it happened and see the bruises on the characters. Incredibly irritating and unsatisfying. That being said, the book would have been a lot more tolerable if Morrall had just edited out the second quarter and left herself with a shorter novel. It would still be mostly filler, repetition and explainations, but at least I wouldnt have had to put up with the 50 (yes. 50.) pages of debating about the bloody fair and then travelling to the bloody fair. Then maybe it wouldnt be so underwhelming after all that build up.
Even as events unfurl, there is very little pay off, only Roza's thoughts about it. The last chapter, 26 pages from the end, is by far the best and only really worthwhile chapter in the book. It has faster pacing, actual story and an event happening in time with us. The ending is almost satisfying enough that I didnt feel like I completely wasted my time.
I have to question why Morrell made the decisions she did with this book when the idea she had could have gone so many different ways. Why wasnt the book about the virus spreading and the early days? Why wasnt the book about Lucia growing up, one of the few children left who also has a really interesting background thats only ever hinted at? Why isnt it all about Aashay, the mysterious stranger, the things he's done? Why is Delphine even in the book since she does nothing at all and has consistently inconsistent characterisation? Why wasnt the book about the governments efforts and the rebel alliances in disagreement with them? Why do we know so much about Roza's work when it's completely irrelevant to the story until they're unnecessarily brought in at the end of the book? What did the statue that was constantly brought up have to do with anything- Was it badly expressed symbolism of some kind? There are so many questions I have and so many interesting things that could have been done with this book that were just left unfulfilled.
The themes of this book are... There? Sort of? Here's the thing. I think there were supposed to be underlying messages, and there are definitely themes. They are things like environmental responsibility, censorship, family, preservation of history, social responsibility and maybe some more. Sounds interesting, right? But they just sort of... exist in the story, with no real stances made. Should we hate censorship or is it necessary, should we fight climate change or is it too late to even bother, is preserving history important or a waste of resources? I don't even know what the author wanted me to think about her themes and that's slightly depressing. I'm personally of the belief that if you include a theme in your book, you should make your message loud, or else the theme doesnt need to be there. These themes were a confused and pointless mess of ideas hovering in the background of the story. If you want warring messages thats fine, great even. Warring messages can really be a great tool make your readers think about things in ways they otherwise wouldnt. There is a way to do that and this book has certainly not done it well. The story is both uninteresting and meaningless.
To use Morrall's most overused form of filler (it stopped being interesting and started being irritating pretty quickly), the book made me think most of all about The Mulberry Bush rhyme. See if you can guess why.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we wash our face,
Wash our face,
Wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we comb our hair,
Comb our hair,
Comb our hair.
This is the way we comb our hair
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth.
This is the way we brush our teeth
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we put on our clothes,
Put on our clothes,
Put on our clothes.
This is the way we put on our clothes
On a cold and frosty morning.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning
Just to be fair, the positives of this book:
1. The world
2. The writing style was of high quality
3. Aashay's character was fully realised
4. The ending was satisfying
I might pick up a different book by Morrall because she's certainly a good writer, even though this is certainly not a good book. We'll see.
Boring.
There, now you dont have to read my follow up rant.
When the Floods Came is a lackluster story set in a world with endless potential. While I would like to give you a description of the book, i can't because nothing in particular happens. It's not really about anything at all! Our set up was promising; the main character, Roza, lives in an almost dystopian future where the population of England has been all but wiped out by a virus. The virus made survivors mostly infirtile and there are little to no chikdren. Roza's engaged to marry a man she has never met to comply with government law (but she likes the man) and suddenly a strange man appears. They ride bikes and suspect things and then it ends. And that- unfortunately - is the entire book. Just explaining their origins. Oh and also they go to a fair (where they explain the premise some more).
The only somewhat interesting events begin to happen around 200 pages in, over half way. And when things do happen, many of the important things happen away from Roza, our eyes into the world. We are told things happened rather than them happening in time with the story. Its like when a movie tells you a fight happened 5 minutes ago but you dont get to watch it. You just know it happened and see the bruises on the characters. Incredibly irritating and unsatisfying. That being said, the book would have been a lot more tolerable if Morrall had just edited out the second quarter and left herself with a shorter novel. It would still be mostly filler, repetition and explainations, but at least I wouldnt have had to put up with the 50 (yes. 50.) pages of debating about the bloody fair and then travelling to the bloody fair. Then maybe it wouldnt be so underwhelming after all that build up.
Even as events unfurl, there is very little pay off, only Roza's thoughts about it. The last chapter, 26 pages from the end, is by far the best and only really worthwhile chapter in the book. It has faster pacing, actual story and an event happening in time with us. The ending is almost satisfying enough that I didnt feel like I completely wasted my time.
I have to question why Morrell made the decisions she did with this book when the idea she had could have gone so many different ways. Why wasnt the book about the virus spreading and the early days? Why wasnt the book about Lucia growing up, one of the few children left who also has a really interesting background thats only ever hinted at? Why isnt it all about Aashay, the mysterious stranger, the things he's done? Why is Delphine even in the book since she does nothing at all and has consistently inconsistent characterisation? Why wasnt the book about the governments efforts and the rebel alliances in disagreement with them? Why do we know so much about Roza's work when it's completely irrelevant to the story until they're unnecessarily brought in at the end of the book? What did the statue that was constantly brought up have to do with anything- Was it badly expressed symbolism of some kind? There are so many questions I have and so many interesting things that could have been done with this book that were just left unfulfilled.
The themes of this book are... There? Sort of? Here's the thing. I think there were supposed to be underlying messages, and there are definitely themes. They are things like environmental responsibility, censorship, family, preservation of history, social responsibility and maybe some more. Sounds interesting, right? But they just sort of... exist in the story, with no real stances made. Should we hate censorship or is it necessary, should we fight climate change or is it too late to even bother, is preserving history important or a waste of resources? I don't even know what the author wanted me to think about her themes and that's slightly depressing. I'm personally of the belief that if you include a theme in your book, you should make your message loud, or else the theme doesnt need to be there. These themes were a confused and pointless mess of ideas hovering in the background of the story. If you want warring messages thats fine, great even. Warring messages can really be a great tool make your readers think about things in ways they otherwise wouldnt. There is a way to do that and this book has certainly not done it well. The story is both uninteresting and meaningless.
To use Morrall's most overused form of filler (it stopped being interesting and started being irritating pretty quickly), the book made me think most of all about The Mulberry Bush rhyme. See if you can guess why.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we wash our face,
Wash our face,
Wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we comb our hair,
Comb our hair,
Comb our hair.
This is the way we comb our hair
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth.
This is the way we brush our teeth
On a cold and frosty morning.
This is the way we put on our clothes,
Put on our clothes,
Put on our clothes.
This is the way we put on our clothes
On a cold and frosty morning.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning
Just to be fair, the positives of this book:
1. The world
2. The writing style was of high quality
3. Aashay's character was fully realised
4. The ending was satisfying
I might pick up a different book by Morrall because she's certainly a good writer, even though this is certainly not a good book. We'll see.
January 26, 2019
-Everyone in this book is obsessed with children. Can't relate.
-Aashay was not definitely not "charming", as the book kept trying to convince me. You can't just give me a creepy, suspicious, secretive character and expect me to trust him. But hey, their entire family did, and who am I to judge?
-This got much better when it started feeling like a thriller with murderers and kidnappers hiding around every corner. Nice.
-Kind of an abrupt ending to an otherwise long and drawn-out novel. I'm gonna end this review just as abruptly to pay homage to this book.
-Aashay was not definitely not "charming", as the book kept trying to convince me. You can't just give me a creepy, suspicious, secretive character and expect me to trust him. But hey, their entire family did, and who am I to judge?
-This got much better when it started feeling like a thriller with murderers and kidnappers hiding around every corner. Nice.
-Kind of an abrupt ending to an otherwise long and drawn-out novel. I'm gonna end this review just as abruptly to pay homage to this book.
January 24, 2016
I am not sure what I think of this book, the ending was very confusing and seemed rushed! I still don't get the Chinese coming in at the last moment and why did they wait?
October 4, 2020
A curious futuristic tale that never quite delivers.
May 30, 2016
A really cracking concept that could have been thrilling but had an incredibly disappointing ending.
I wanted to like Roza and her family, however Morrall insists on making Roza insufferable, dissecting everything she says. And everything Boris says and Moth says...I was utterly exhausted by the end and the plot really hadn't moved anywhere.
As is often the way in films and books you ask, "What are the stakes?" The family want to stay safe and be together and there are ~dangers~ in the world but the danger never feels real. It's just Roza telling us over and over that things are dangerous. Show the danger! Give us something to worry or care about instead of the musings of a neuoritc girl and her cooped up family. I was intrigued to know what the mystery was and worst of all, there was none. The ending is totally baffling and if anyone could explain it to me I'd bloody love it.
Usually one of my favourite genres, but this one seemed to miss the mark.
I wanted to like Roza and her family, however Morrall insists on making Roza insufferable, dissecting everything she says. And everything Boris says and Moth says...I was utterly exhausted by the end and the plot really hadn't moved anywhere.
As is often the way in films and books you ask, "What are the stakes?" The family want to stay safe and be together and there are ~dangers~ in the world but the danger never feels real. It's just Roza telling us over and over that things are dangerous. Show the danger! Give us something to worry or care about instead of the musings of a neuoritc girl and her cooped up family. I was intrigued to know what the mystery was and worst of all, there was none. The ending is totally baffling and if anyone could explain it to me I'd bloody love it.
Usually one of my favourite genres, but this one seemed to miss the mark.
April 26, 2016
When the Floods came opens twenty years after a virus wiped out much of the population of the UK, after which the country has been cut off completely from the rest of the world – living under rules of strict quarantine. The virus came following years of extreme climate change, severe floods had already changed where and how people were living, the British landscape altered forever. The government and the majority of the population has moved to Brighton and many previously highly populated areas have been reduced to rubble in a bid to help stop the spread of the Hoffman’s virus. The country is now sparsely populated, the majority of people are infertile, and children born post Hoffman’s are rare and precious.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2016/...
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2016/...
April 24, 2016
Disappointed in what sounded like a great read. Started off promising but just didn't come to much. I ended up really disliking the main character Roza who was repetitive, explained everything with far to much detail (give the readers credit, they can work the story line out for themselves) and was very presumptuous of the other characters thoughts. I did want to find out what happened in the end (why its not a 1) but that too was a let down and seemed a bit anti-climatic.
March 10, 2019
This book is not as interesting as it thinks it is. The world it builds isn't solid, it's fuzzy round the edges, like a half formed idea written out (drawn out more like) without any real purpose. There's no take away from this book, no reason for it, it is like a bad adaptation of Z is for Zachariah with bicycles.
November 7, 2019
Every time the author quoted yet another nursery rhyme I had an overwhelming urge to punch her in the face.
November 14, 2017
Roza Polanski lives with her parents, her sisters and her brother in an apartment building in Birmingham, works for a Chinese scientific research program, is engaged to one of her colleagues, Hector, and has never met anyone her own age. The world climate has changed, so between spring and autumn floods, the summer months are too hot to go out, and the winter snow lies metres deep. In the UK, the population was drastically reduced after an outbreak of deadly disease, and the country is in quarantine, run by a skeleton government in Brighton, subject to supply drops from the rest of the world. Roza is pretty happy, all told, and looking forward to finally meeting Hector 'eye to eye'.
And then a cat is set loose among the pigeons, and Roza's world turns upside.
This is a well-written, well-characterised book, with a different vision of the future than is often portrayed. Technology solutions to the weather extremes were put in place before Hoffman's, there have been small advances in living technology that feel plausible, not too grand and live-changing, the combination of online work and family life is neatly drawn.
And then a cat is set loose among the pigeons, and Roza's world turns upside.
This is a well-written, well-characterised book, with a different vision of the future than is often portrayed. Technology solutions to the weather extremes were put in place before Hoffman's, there have been small advances in living technology that feel plausible, not too grand and live-changing, the combination of online work and family life is neatly drawn.
April 27, 2017
Review to come.
May 5, 2023
3.5/5
i rlly liked the concept but the ending felt very abrupt to me!
i rlly liked the concept but the ending felt very abrupt to me!
July 6, 2017
Dystopian ish futuristic novel set in Birmingham. Roza is planning to marry Hector and move to Brighton,the new headquarters of the country as flood waters rise over the UK. But Roza has never actually met Hector and her small family suddenly find that they aren't quite as alone as they thought.
Interesting take on future with all the usual sci fi style elements - virus leaves people infertile so children are a valued commodity, quarantine, environmental factors mean flooding and desolation - destruction of cities and mistrust of government. It's all here. The best thing I liked about this was actually recognising all the landmarks like Birmingham art gallery and library and spaghetti junction.
Interesting take on future with all the usual sci fi style elements - virus leaves people infertile so children are a valued commodity, quarantine, environmental factors mean flooding and desolation - destruction of cities and mistrust of government. It's all here. The best thing I liked about this was actually recognising all the landmarks like Birmingham art gallery and library and spaghetti junction.
August 6, 2018
I have always love Clare Morrall's novels. She always write with beauty, perception and emotional sensitivity. Astonishing Splashes of Colour is one of the best books I have ever read. I also particularly enjoyed The Roundabout Man, and The Man who Disappeared. While writing from a feminine perspective Morrall is able to write with tremendous insight into the angst of the modern man. So I was excited to pick up this novel, which seemed like something of a departure for Morrall - set in the future, post apocalyptic, climate changed - not her usual territory.
The novel revolves around the Polanski family, who have cleverly managed to avoid the ravages of disease as well as the climatic disasters that seem to have struck not only the West Midlands where they live but the wider world too. As the novel progresses we follow the family's travails as they seek to find other humans in their lonely world and look to secure a future for the four children in the family. I loved the way Morrall gives the familiar a twist, for instance when travelling from the security of their home the family head off on bikes up the now disused motorways - there are no cars, cycling the future ! This is just one of the ways Morrall anchors her novel in to a proximate future.
The novel is character driven rather than plot driven and the interest of the reader lies with the Polanski family. We are invested in their welfare and we encounter the threats they face with them in a visceral way. Water plays a role in shaping the novel; there are a number of scenes where the power of water is a key element in the story and we face these with the Polanskis.
I did enjoy the novel; Roza Polanski, at many points the narrative viewpoint of the novel, is a feisty, likeable and engaging character and I was always engaged with her story. I felt that the novel needed some more narrative twists along the way. The world as Morrall wrote it was almost too similar to the world as we know it and it needed to be a bit more confilicted with the contemporary. Do read the novel though - it is well worth it.
The novel revolves around the Polanski family, who have cleverly managed to avoid the ravages of disease as well as the climatic disasters that seem to have struck not only the West Midlands where they live but the wider world too. As the novel progresses we follow the family's travails as they seek to find other humans in their lonely world and look to secure a future for the four children in the family. I loved the way Morrall gives the familiar a twist, for instance when travelling from the security of their home the family head off on bikes up the now disused motorways - there are no cars, cycling the future ! This is just one of the ways Morrall anchors her novel in to a proximate future.
The novel is character driven rather than plot driven and the interest of the reader lies with the Polanski family. We are invested in their welfare and we encounter the threats they face with them in a visceral way. Water plays a role in shaping the novel; there are a number of scenes where the power of water is a key element in the story and we face these with the Polanskis.
I did enjoy the novel; Roza Polanski, at many points the narrative viewpoint of the novel, is a feisty, likeable and engaging character and I was always engaged with her story. I felt that the novel needed some more narrative twists along the way. The world as Morrall wrote it was almost too similar to the world as we know it and it needed to be a bit more confilicted with the contemporary. Do read the novel though - it is well worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2019
Post Apocalyptic world that is set a long time after disaster. Always going to be my jam.
We follow the Polanski Family who are living on their own and managing to contain themselves until a stranger arrives and brings the outside world too them.
It's captivating and kept me hooked throughout. A view reviewers weren't happy with the ending but it worked for me and it's not the kind of book that needs a neat ending. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
We follow the Polanski Family who are living on their own and managing to contain themselves until a stranger arrives and brings the outside world too them.
It's captivating and kept me hooked throughout. A view reviewers weren't happy with the ending but it worked for me and it's not the kind of book that needs a neat ending. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
October 27, 2021
The first 50 odd pages were hard for me to follow - jumping back and forth, introducing characters in tidbits. I wanted to scratch my eyes out with every nursery rhyme quote or ‘Whizzario!’ from Boris.
About quarter/halfway through the story starts gain momentum hence the 2 stars but then it fizzles out and leaves you with a poo ending & too many unanswered questions.
About quarter/halfway through the story starts gain momentum hence the 2 stars but then it fizzles out and leaves you with a poo ending & too many unanswered questions.
November 8, 2016
Humanity was almost wiped out when the Hoffman virus ravaged the earth, taking 99.9% of the population with it. The people who were lucky enough to be immune or to survive the virus are slowly rebuilding civilisation. The world is an empty shell of its former self, but it is still ticking over. Machines built before the virus give people an almost endless supply of fresh food, the internet is still working so the survivors are connected, they share resources and work on building the future. Unfortunately the virus wiped out most of the children and left a majority of the surviving population infertile. This makes children a rarity and therefore a luxury which most are desperate to surround themselves with.
The Polanskis are a surviving family living in near isolation in their little bubble (well huge tower block) in Birmingham in the U.K. Popi, Moth, Roza, Delphine, Boris and Lucia all a happy family, letting life tick over until Roza's fiancé Hector arrives to take her and the family to the now 'capital city' of Brighton. Life is good, food and work are in good supply and the family band together to keep each other safe. This paradise is disrupted when a stranger named Aashay turns up out of the blue, telling stories, influencing each of the family members and filling everyone's heads with dreams. The Polanskis are taken on a journey that will challenge everything they believed about the new world and not for the better.
In When the Floods Came, we follow the story from Roza's perspective. 22 and ready to be married, Roza's easy and hopeful life is muddied when Aashay enters her life, spinning yarns and telling everyone that life 'out there' is so much better for everyone. Anxiety levels in the family are already at full capacity due to the fact that children are almost non-existent and the Polanskis have a 7 year old Lucia to think about when there is constant talk of kidnappings and desperation for contact with the remaining youth. This anxiety is maintained throughout the story and it is one of the remarkable elements to this story. Clare Morrall creates such a hopeful version of a struggling humanity and then drops this sinister, creepy and desperate underlying atmosphere into the mix and it has its moments.
This was a great book, the development of the story and the characters was strong, there was plenty of depth and detail about this 'shadow of a world that once was' and what is being done to continue onward. I found this book to be a refreshing take on a popular fictional scenario. I found it difficult to pin-point a genre for this book, there are elements of action, thriller, post-apocalypse, family and mystery all combined together to produce When the Floods Came. I was amazed by the hopefulness that Clare Morrall threaded through this book, which was constantly skewed by the presence of Aashay.
Aashay is one of the stand out characters in this book. He is so mysterious, frustrating, inspiring and sinister, no one could ever trust him but they always found themselves believing in what he has to say. The members of the Polanski family each have their own presence but I only really appreciated them as a unit, I found each of them on an individual level to be under-developed.
As a family I was excited and impressed to see them fight off every challenge that came their way. Roza for me was just a tad too temperamental and rebellious, I appreciate rebellion in certain forms don't get me wrong, but wanting to do something immediately just because someone says not to, is to me, just immature. Roza is torn between to versions of herself, family Roza and the free Roza, so it is difficult at times to predict the outcome of her decisions which adds an element of risk/thrills.
I have gone on quite a bit in this review so I shall start to wrap up. There are some incredibly difficult themes in this book that involve deaths of children and panic for their safety. It is difficult at times but this scenario is there to unite the family against potential threats. Clare Morrall is so talented at world building, using relatable geography and experiences to bring the reader right into the warm embrace of the Polanski family and gives them a front seat in an inspiring version of a post apocalyptic scenario.
My favourite element of this book is the fact that Clare Morrall put so much thought into her characters and the world that they occupy and the story flowed so well and I found myself not rushing to the end (even though I had to look ahead occasionally out of panic, we all do it :D) and I finished the book satisfied and hoping for a sequel, please..?
Overall Opinion: Overall, I definitely recommend this book to those looking for a fresh perspective on the 'end of the world' scenario. It has been done many times before but I enjoyed Clare Morrall's take on it and I will be looking out for more of her work in the future.
The Polanskis are a surviving family living in near isolation in their little bubble (well huge tower block) in Birmingham in the U.K. Popi, Moth, Roza, Delphine, Boris and Lucia all a happy family, letting life tick over until Roza's fiancé Hector arrives to take her and the family to the now 'capital city' of Brighton. Life is good, food and work are in good supply and the family band together to keep each other safe. This paradise is disrupted when a stranger named Aashay turns up out of the blue, telling stories, influencing each of the family members and filling everyone's heads with dreams. The Polanskis are taken on a journey that will challenge everything they believed about the new world and not for the better.
In When the Floods Came, we follow the story from Roza's perspective. 22 and ready to be married, Roza's easy and hopeful life is muddied when Aashay enters her life, spinning yarns and telling everyone that life 'out there' is so much better for everyone. Anxiety levels in the family are already at full capacity due to the fact that children are almost non-existent and the Polanskis have a 7 year old Lucia to think about when there is constant talk of kidnappings and desperation for contact with the remaining youth. This anxiety is maintained throughout the story and it is one of the remarkable elements to this story. Clare Morrall creates such a hopeful version of a struggling humanity and then drops this sinister, creepy and desperate underlying atmosphere into the mix and it has its moments.
This was a great book, the development of the story and the characters was strong, there was plenty of depth and detail about this 'shadow of a world that once was' and what is being done to continue onward. I found this book to be a refreshing take on a popular fictional scenario. I found it difficult to pin-point a genre for this book, there are elements of action, thriller, post-apocalypse, family and mystery all combined together to produce When the Floods Came. I was amazed by the hopefulness that Clare Morrall threaded through this book, which was constantly skewed by the presence of Aashay.
Aashay is one of the stand out characters in this book. He is so mysterious, frustrating, inspiring and sinister, no one could ever trust him but they always found themselves believing in what he has to say. The members of the Polanski family each have their own presence but I only really appreciated them as a unit, I found each of them on an individual level to be under-developed.
As a family I was excited and impressed to see them fight off every challenge that came their way. Roza for me was just a tad too temperamental and rebellious, I appreciate rebellion in certain forms don't get me wrong, but wanting to do something immediately just because someone says not to, is to me, just immature. Roza is torn between to versions of herself, family Roza and the free Roza, so it is difficult at times to predict the outcome of her decisions which adds an element of risk/thrills.
I have gone on quite a bit in this review so I shall start to wrap up. There are some incredibly difficult themes in this book that involve deaths of children and panic for their safety. It is difficult at times but this scenario is there to unite the family against potential threats. Clare Morrall is so talented at world building, using relatable geography and experiences to bring the reader right into the warm embrace of the Polanski family and gives them a front seat in an inspiring version of a post apocalyptic scenario.
My favourite element of this book is the fact that Clare Morrall put so much thought into her characters and the world that they occupy and the story flowed so well and I found myself not rushing to the end (even though I had to look ahead occasionally out of panic, we all do it :D) and I finished the book satisfied and hoping for a sequel, please..?
Overall Opinion: Overall, I definitely recommend this book to those looking for a fresh perspective on the 'end of the world' scenario. It has been done many times before but I enjoyed Clare Morrall's take on it and I will be looking out for more of her work in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2018
In a way this novel leaves you with more questions than answers. The details of current situation, a viral plague of some sort, high levels of infertility, a centralised community in Brighton, climate change leading to floods and a long season of snowy weather, are all discussed but not fully explained, they are part of the status quo of the lives of the central family and the central character, Roza. While waiting for the arrival of her husband to be, Hector, she encounters Aashay, a confusing chameleon of novelty, excitement, promise and threat, who insinuates himself into the life of the family and causes conflict and uncertainty as a result.
Nicely detailed, just enough information for the lover of dystopian fiction to work with, well drawn characters, and a sense of tension and threat throughout, with particularly tense final few chapters, lead to an absorbing and enjoyable read, with the potential for a sequel if the author was so inclined. Another great piece of writing from a consistently rewarding writer.
Nicely detailed, just enough information for the lover of dystopian fiction to work with, well drawn characters, and a sense of tension and threat throughout, with particularly tense final few chapters, lead to an absorbing and enjoyable read, with the potential for a sequel if the author was so inclined. Another great piece of writing from a consistently rewarding writer.
October 12, 2018
I loved this book. An interesting, very believable post apocalyptic story and I was riveted from start to finish (almost). The only negative was that the ending was slightly disappointing. Otherwise, brilliant!
March 9, 2022
I love a good apocalyptic novel. This book was driven by a fascinating idea linking both pandemics and climate change. It had more potential than the story achieved. Aashay was definitely not charming, creepy is a better description, the ending was abrupt and strange with the Chinese turning up . Enjoyable but also could have achieved far more with this setting and situation.
May 6, 2017
I was so excited to read this, the latest novel by Clare Morrall. I’ve read and enjoyed all her previous work and The Roundabout Man was one of my favourite novels of 2012. Sadly,‘When the Floods Came’ is dreadfully disappointing. It is so badly constructed, with much-heralded twists that go nowhere or simply peter out. As a reader of SF and fantasy, I am well-used to putting my credibility on hold but this premise is neither credible (in a world where a plane takes off every 45 seconds from Heathrow alone, I really cannot believe a plague could be contained within the UK for more than a day) and nor is it particularly interesting. Even the characters are weak. This is usually Claire Morall’s strongest point; even when her plot is not the best, she can generally be relied on to people it with great characters who carry the tale and keep one reading, but I’m afraid I found the Polanski family unusually dull, un-fleshed-out, two dimensional and just plain boring.
It’s not an unmitigated disaster. It is still readable, if only because one keeps turning the pages in the expectation that this is all leading up to something, because eventually something, surely, has to happen. But, having presented the reader with a very dull world to work within, the tale that unfolds within it is, sadly, even more tedious. Nothing of any note really happens - other than the sudden, unexplained arrival of a mysterious stranger, with seemingly no purpose other than to add some drama and tension into a exceedingly uneventful tale. I really hoped that Aashay’s arrival heralded a genuine twist; for a while, I thought something genuinely clever and surprising was going to happen. Alas, it was all exactly as one would predict and the ending was the silliest, most rushed, most ridiculous thing I’ve read for a very, very long time.
There are a few pleasing interludes - the trip to the art gallery was atmospheric, Hector introduced a little (sadly unfulfilled) tension, and the fair at least brought in a few more interesting characters. But on the whole, I found it all predictable, boring and a bitter disappointment.
It’s not an unmitigated disaster. It is still readable, if only because one keeps turning the pages in the expectation that this is all leading up to something, because eventually something, surely, has to happen. But, having presented the reader with a very dull world to work within, the tale that unfolds within it is, sadly, even more tedious. Nothing of any note really happens - other than the sudden, unexplained arrival of a mysterious stranger, with seemingly no purpose other than to add some drama and tension into a exceedingly uneventful tale. I really hoped that Aashay’s arrival heralded a genuine twist; for a while, I thought something genuinely clever and surprising was going to happen. Alas, it was all exactly as one would predict and the ending was the silliest, most rushed, most ridiculous thing I’ve read for a very, very long time.
There are a few pleasing interludes - the trip to the art gallery was atmospheric, Hector introduced a little (sadly unfulfilled) tension, and the fair at least brought in a few more interesting characters. But on the whole, I found it all predictable, boring and a bitter disappointment.
February 10, 2019
The novel started off well, and drew me in slowly to the world. Having spent many years in Birmingham and the surrounding area, and having explored the places mentioned in the book when younger, it was thrilling to see them described in the novel.
However it had a number of plot holes and unanswered questions when we got to the end. There just didn’t seem to be much depth in the characters apart from the villain of the story. But even then we were left with a lot of unanswered questions about this villain. The story about his cat was not very clear, or why he drew cats in the first place?
Rosa had a weird reaction after believing the villain had murdered someone- she swooned?!
There were so many missies opportunities to have made this novel so much better. What if Hector was not real, what if Akshay had created him and was using him to chat to Rosa? An online romance, except Akshay couldn’t reveal his true self- because of his past and having been rejected by his own parents and the aftermath of the floods?
I feel the author gave up with the story as she plodded along towards the conclusion. You can tell from the way she suddenly introduces the Chinese who have been spying on them all this time. Like really?
My take is that one of the authors daughters had a bad experience with a boyfriend, and the author based her Akshay character on him. Then placed him into a story she might have been thinking about for some time. Although she hadn’t really spent enough time on world building, and as she says herself- who needs to research if its set in the future?! You can make it all up. Yes but it requires some sort of strong framework behind it before you start. So i think she just got bored with the story and with the impending publisher deadline sought to find a quick and unsatisfying ending. Two stars for effort.
However it had a number of plot holes and unanswered questions when we got to the end. There just didn’t seem to be much depth in the characters apart from the villain of the story. But even then we were left with a lot of unanswered questions about this villain. The story about his cat was not very clear, or why he drew cats in the first place?
Rosa had a weird reaction after believing the villain had murdered someone- she swooned?!
There were so many missies opportunities to have made this novel so much better. What if Hector was not real, what if Akshay had created him and was using him to chat to Rosa? An online romance, except Akshay couldn’t reveal his true self- because of his past and having been rejected by his own parents and the aftermath of the floods?
I feel the author gave up with the story as she plodded along towards the conclusion. You can tell from the way she suddenly introduces the Chinese who have been spying on them all this time. Like really?
My take is that one of the authors daughters had a bad experience with a boyfriend, and the author based her Akshay character on him. Then placed him into a story she might have been thinking about for some time. Although she hadn’t really spent enough time on world building, and as she says herself- who needs to research if its set in the future?! You can make it all up. Yes but it requires some sort of strong framework behind it before you start. So i think she just got bored with the story and with the impending publisher deadline sought to find a quick and unsatisfying ending. Two stars for effort.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2016
In a dystopian world ripped asunder by two catastrophes; a killer virus that has decimated the world's population, and a weather pattern causing most low-lying land to be flooded, the Polanski family are the sole occupants of a high rise tower. Genetically fortunate and immune to the virus, they lead a solitary, relatively stable life, though deeply suspicious of outsiders.
Roza, the eldest of four, awaits the arrival of her fiancé, Hector, whom she's only met online. Suddenly cat motifs start appearing, alerting her to a stranger's presence. Unbeknownst to the Polanskis, a young man, Aashay has been living on one of the upper floors of their tower. Initially wary, the charming, attractive Aashay ingratiates himself into the life of Roza's family and encourages them to venture out from their safety zone.
This not only leads to meeting other virus survivors but potential danger.
Alternating between distrust of, and infatuation with Aashay, Hector's failure to arrive, and Aashay's increasingly unpredictable behaviour, Morrall ratchets up the tension to an agreeably satisfying ending. She is especially good at depicting the deprivations and limitations of the world of the Polanskis.
Roza, the eldest of four, awaits the arrival of her fiancé, Hector, whom she's only met online. Suddenly cat motifs start appearing, alerting her to a stranger's presence. Unbeknownst to the Polanskis, a young man, Aashay has been living on one of the upper floors of their tower. Initially wary, the charming, attractive Aashay ingratiates himself into the life of Roza's family and encourages them to venture out from their safety zone.
This not only leads to meeting other virus survivors but potential danger.
Alternating between distrust of, and infatuation with Aashay, Hector's failure to arrive, and Aashay's increasingly unpredictable behaviour, Morrall ratchets up the tension to an agreeably satisfying ending. She is especially good at depicting the deprivations and limitations of the world of the Polanskis.
December 4, 2016
The idea of dystopia or apocalypse very quickly attracts me to a novel. I like reading stories in which reality and fantasy meet. I might be miss-summarising this, but I think that in this book global warming took the overhand, sea-levels rose, no one studied Dutch dike technology, and all of the UK flooded. The novel is set in an abandoned Birmingham – and having been to Birmingham, I already began picturing the situation before even starting to read. However, it was not well-written. The author begins with an extremely cliché scene of the main character describing what she looks like and her personality is just kind of generic (perfect, some well-selected flaws, nice hair). The apocalypse and how the world works do receive some attention, which I liked. For example, China plays a big role in how things work and therefore the main character sensibly majored in Chinese and she works as a translator. Cool. However, the story, the plot, and so forth, were not very good. There were several obvious, massive plot-holes, plus the entire ending made no sense whatsoever and felt like it was rushed. In this case I do not feel like I missed any deep references, because I am pretty certain there were none.
December 20, 2017
This book had SUCH a fantastic premise?! Dystopia caused by disease and climate change, in a way that was believable but interesting! Sign me up!!
And yet it was so disappointing.
I never warmed to Roza. She just wasn't fleshed out enough and honestly, was everything I dislike about that certain kind of ineffectual heroine. Popi and Moth felt much more believable and so even did Delphine and Lucia. Boris was annoying but at least understandable in a macho-prove-yourself way.
The problem was, nothing felt like it was happening til at least 2/3 the way through and then some. The last 20 pages were the best- the writing was sharper and more focussed and there's was actually shit happening (even tho I personally found the whole layout confusing af).
Aashay was completely undeveloped. He had a lot more potential to be creepy or charming or both- instead he was just irritating.
Nothing was developed enough in general. For all that there's not a lot happening there was still background stuff going on that never felt fully realised, and the writing honestly wasn't good enough to support it all.
And that ending?! Not happy tbh.
Great idea, but not good execution. :(
And yet it was so disappointing.
I never warmed to Roza. She just wasn't fleshed out enough and honestly, was everything I dislike about that certain kind of ineffectual heroine. Popi and Moth felt much more believable and so even did Delphine and Lucia. Boris was annoying but at least understandable in a macho-prove-yourself way.
The problem was, nothing felt like it was happening til at least 2/3 the way through and then some. The last 20 pages were the best- the writing was sharper and more focussed and there's was actually shit happening (even tho I personally found the whole layout confusing af).
Aashay was completely undeveloped. He had a lot more potential to be creepy or charming or both- instead he was just irritating.
Nothing was developed enough in general. For all that there's not a lot happening there was still background stuff going on that never felt fully realised, and the writing honestly wasn't good enough to support it all.
And that ending?! Not happy tbh.
Great idea, but not good execution. :(
August 18, 2024
When the Floods Came is a well-written and imaginative take on an apocalyptic future. The novel is set in England, where a virus has wiped out most of the population. A few people live in isolated pockets using technology that is slowly running down. The main focus is a family who live by themselves in an otherwise abandoned apartment block. The story is told from the viewpoint of 22-year-old Roza. Due to the effects of the virus, people her age and under are rare.
The story centres around Roza waiting for her fiance (whom she has never met in real life; all their interactions have been on the web) to arrive on his push bike – no cars or pods are still running. While she waits, a mysterious stranger turns up. His arrival brings a sense of mystery and intrigue. Does he want to help and fit in, or does he have some hidden agenda?
The story is more character than plot-based. It is about how a family cut off from physical interaction with other survivors copes with a stranger and the outside world he introduces them to.
The story centres around Roza waiting for her fiance (whom she has never met in real life; all their interactions have been on the web) to arrive on his push bike – no cars or pods are still running. While she waits, a mysterious stranger turns up. His arrival brings a sense of mystery and intrigue. Does he want to help and fit in, or does he have some hidden agenda?
The story is more character than plot-based. It is about how a family cut off from physical interaction with other survivors copes with a stranger and the outside world he introduces them to.
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