Margaret Atwood, the darling of  Canadian literature has written an apocalyptic, futuristic novel, The Year of the Flood (reading_sample)

Adam One, the kindly leader of the God’s Gardeners – a religion devoted 2 the melding of science, religion, and nature – has long predicted a disaster. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women remain: Ren, a young dancer locked away in a high-end sex club, and Toby, a former God’s Gardener, who barricades herself inside a luxurious spa. Have others survived? Ren’s bio-artist friend Amanda? Zeb, her eco-fighter stepfather? Her onetime lover, Jimmy? Or the murderous Painballers? Not to mention the CorpSeCorps, the shadowy policing force of the ruling powers… As Adam One and his beleaguered followers regroup, Ren and Toby emerge into an altered world, where nothing – including the animal life – is predictable. (taken from web site)

Atwood is an essential read for anyone who is Canadian or would like to understand the Canadian psychi.  Other books:

The Edible Woman (1969) for all you feminists; Surfacing (1972); Lady Oracle (1976); Life Before Man (1979); Bodily Harm (1981); The Handmaid’s Tale (1985); Cat’s Eye (1988); The Robber Bride (1993); Alias Grace (1996); The Blind Assassin (2000); Oryx and Crake (2003); The Penelopiad (2005); The Year of the Flood (2009). I have read all of these, the only one hard to finish was The Blind Assassin, the rest I would recommend!

Atwood has also written several short fiction collections. The one I would recommend would be The Tent (2006), a strange tale of a couple haunted by the images seen through the film of their tent in flickered images of light. I have also read Moral Disorder (2006); Wilderness Tips (1991) and Dancing Girls (1977). Atwood has also written these collections: Murder in the Dark (1983); Bluebeard’s Egg (1983); Good Bones (1992); Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994); The Labrador Fiasco (1996)

Selected passages from the book, Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing. Essential read for aspiring writers.

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