Helpful Score: 10
Atwood has a lot of live up to with Oryx and Crake, considering the striking originality (and raging success) of her previous novel of the future, The Handmaid's Tale. (One of my favorite books).
Oryx & Crake sets the stage by showing a scene of a future castaway, near-destroyed by the elements, in a state of filth and decay, living on the outskirts of an innocent tribe of beautiful, simple uncorrupted people.
A familiar scene, but here our narrator may be the last 'true' man on earth, and the innocent tribe a product of genetic experimentation.
The story is told in flashback, as the narrator's memories of growing up in the gated communties of wealthy but restrictive companies dealing with genetics research, selling false hope to the residents of the ever-more-dangerous 'pleeblands' outside, dealing with ever-more-common incidents of bioterrorism.
I'm personally not a huge fan of the kind of complex narrative structure that Atwood utilizes here, jumping from time to time, carefully revealing elements at critical junctures - but I can appreciate that in this work, it is very well-crafted and expertly done.
This scenario of the future's wealthy living in environmentally regulated compounds while the masses take their chances outside is really a standard by now... While I love this kind of post-apocalyptic stuff, I kept getting a sense of deja-vu at many of the scenes...
The main fear that Atwood plays on here is that of scientific research fueled only by the bottom line, selling unsafe and unneccessary products to people without any sense of ethics. (The frightening bleakness of this vision is only enhanced by the amusing and pun-like names of the corporations and products). It is also about the potential for destruction enabled by brilliant minds who are all too subject to human frailty, whether that be fueled by interpersonal relationships or twisted ideals.
A feature of the book is that the narrator, like most individuals in reality, doesn't know everything. To the end, some things elude him. He doesn't understand everything. (Which by extension, means that the reader won't understand everything - much like in reality, where sometimes you can only guess at a person's motivations for what they do.) And it also features one of those (to me, intensely annoying) 'thought-provoking' endings where you don't know what's going to happen, so you have to consider the implications of all the possibilities. (But I just go - "argh! SO what happened!?")
Still, this is a well-done, thoughtful work, which I would highly recommend.
Oryx & Crake sets the stage by showing a scene of a future castaway, near-destroyed by the elements, in a state of filth and decay, living on the outskirts of an innocent tribe of beautiful, simple uncorrupted people.
A familiar scene, but here our narrator may be the last 'true' man on earth, and the innocent tribe a product of genetic experimentation.
The story is told in flashback, as the narrator's memories of growing up in the gated communties of wealthy but restrictive companies dealing with genetics research, selling false hope to the residents of the ever-more-dangerous 'pleeblands' outside, dealing with ever-more-common incidents of bioterrorism.
I'm personally not a huge fan of the kind of complex narrative structure that Atwood utilizes here, jumping from time to time, carefully revealing elements at critical junctures - but I can appreciate that in this work, it is very well-crafted and expertly done.
This scenario of the future's wealthy living in environmentally regulated compounds while the masses take their chances outside is really a standard by now... While I love this kind of post-apocalyptic stuff, I kept getting a sense of deja-vu at many of the scenes...
The main fear that Atwood plays on here is that of scientific research fueled only by the bottom line, selling unsafe and unneccessary products to people without any sense of ethics. (The frightening bleakness of this vision is only enhanced by the amusing and pun-like names of the corporations and products). It is also about the potential for destruction enabled by brilliant minds who are all too subject to human frailty, whether that be fueled by interpersonal relationships or twisted ideals.
A feature of the book is that the narrator, like most individuals in reality, doesn't know everything. To the end, some things elude him. He doesn't understand everything. (Which by extension, means that the reader won't understand everything - much like in reality, where sometimes you can only guess at a person's motivations for what they do.) And it also features one of those (to me, intensely annoying) 'thought-provoking' endings where you don't know what's going to happen, so you have to consider the implications of all the possibilities. (But I just go - "argh! SO what happened!?")
Still, this is a well-done, thoughtful work, which I would highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 4
A beatifully written story on a very ugly subject. A post apocolyptic world rebuilt by two men who are barely grown themselves.
Helpful Score: 3
Atwood again journeys into a future dystopia where humanity has destroyed itself, this time through genetic engineering rather than religious fanaticism. Fine and chilling work.
Helpful Score: 3
LOVED this book. LOVED IT! This has become one of my favorite books of all time. The story is fantastic, and I could not put it down. At least 3 of my friends have also read it and give it 5 of 5 stars. Keep an open mind and just be entertained by the storyline and the characters. I will not tell you more, you just need to read it.
Helpful Score: 2
Up-front confession: I am a total Atwood fan. I love dystopian literature, and her female characters are so eloquently drawn. I was therefore confused and appalled to discover that I just didn't like Oryx and Crake. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. First, it largely revolves around Jimmy (Snowman) and Crake, both of whom are men. Part of the reason I read Atwood is that I trust her to write engaging female characters in stories other than chicklit. Oryx and Crake entirely fails to deliver on that. Additionally, the emotions behind the events are badly drawn or are unrealistic. Some people enjoy a dry "then these events happened" read, but I'm not one of them. Thankfully, I read Year of the Flood first, so I know that Atwood switched back to her usual style.
Check out my extended review.
Check out my extended review.
