Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

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Oryx and Crake

(#1 - MaddAddam Trilogy)

May 30, 2003 / 443 pages / Fiction

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Dystopian

Post-apocalypse

Science Fiction

Genetics

The Human Condition

Speculative fiction

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This is a very enjoyable book. The author is great at her writing her own brand of speculative fiction: a science fiction setting with a general fiction narrative. The world is rich and you will keep reading just to hear more about the mysteries of why it has turned out the way it has.

Grade: A / Fantomex / Sep 4, 2013

An intriguing piece of science fiction that bridges a gap between fantasy and 'high-literature'. The narrative explores the capacity for evil of a sociopath with the power of genetic engineering at his fingertips. As powerful as this novel is, and as it is with much of Atwood's work, her male characters are cardboard caricatures with little real depth.

Grade: A / Andy / Sep 4, 2013

Atwood writes sci-fi dystopian fiction in a very literary style. I enjoy her writing style, and, though the theme of this novel is very depressing, it is well worth reading.

Grade: A– / WPslide / Sep 15, 2013

In the moment, Atwood's words are riveting and her dark vision of the future is deeply unnerving and frighteningly plausible. But stepping back from the book creates a host of frustrating questions. Where do any of the characters' actual motivations come from? Why are so many chapters spent on the narrator's porn habits, while the actual apocalyptic event only gets a few paragraphs? And why does that narrator condemn himself to a painful life outdoors when he has an entire globe to explore?

Grade: C+ / bennett_the_ceo

/ Mar 3, 2015

I really wanted to like this book. The scientific advancements and their effects on future society were plausible and interesting to consider. However the narrative style did not work for me. Too much time was spent on seemingly useless anecdotes from the characters past, and not enough time was spent on the events surrounding the apocalypse. The book didn't really captivate me until 3/4 of the way through and even then the ending failed to intrigue me enough to want to read more in this series.

Grade: C / HeathersCorner

/ Mar 4, 2015

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