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Oryx and Crake Review

What a terrifying tale of the future that Margaret Atwood has envisioned for humanity. The story of Oryx and Crake is actually the story of Snowman, whose real name is Jimmy, and is the narrator of this post-Orwellian nightmare. I was not aware that this is the first book in a series, called the MaddAddam Trilogy, until after I had begun reading it, but I will most definitely continue with the other two books.
Snowman is narrating this tale as one of the very few humans left alive. Some ravaging disease, something engineered by man and has Ebola-like tendencies to reduce its victims to a liquified, bloody mess, has eliminated everyone, at least as far as Snowman knows. He is not sure whether there are any other humans like him left, but there are the Children of Crake living nearby, or Crakers as Snowman calls them, humanoid beings engineered by Crake, who was a "frenemy" of Jimmy's before the plague.
The flashbacks of life before, told from Jimmy's perspective, narrate a world divided into areas of science, known as Compounds, whose inhabitants are those brainiacs who engineer all of modern medicine and who live isolated, perfect lives away from the rest of humanity (Jimmy's first home is in the compound HealthWyzer). Everyone else lives in the "pleeblands" (LOVE that term!), areas where life is not much different than the here and now that we enjoy. Jimmy and Crake live in one such compound growing up, and there they enjoy a sheltered existence. Eventually they both go away to colleges and Crake becomes a scientist at the most wealthy and well-known compound, RejoovenEsense, while Jimmy is a low-earning copy writer for AnooYoo.
The main story narrates Jimmy's so-called life after the plague, and mainly shows his struggle to remain sane as he is alone on earth, even though he is not technically alone.
This story is one of the most creatively written stories I have ever read. Ms. Atwood's ability to build upon reality and successfully weave her fantasy is refreshing. One of my favorite aspects of the novel were the various animals that she had the scientists invent. Pigoons, for instance, are quite prominent in the tale. A pigoon is a genetically-modified pig that is used to grow transplant organs, but Jimmy suspects that they are used for food as well, which brings up an interesting canibalistic overtone. This very clearly reminded me of another terrific book, Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. That had a similar theme and was also quite a nightmarish tale, but very different from this one. One main difference is Ms. Atwood's ability to inject humor into such a dark story. It is, of course, dark humor, but unlikely all the same.
To some extent, this story reminded me of The Stand by Stephen King. The Stand was more focused on the aftermath, rather than building the world which spawned the before. I am wondering if the other two books will focus more on the after. It did seem that the main question that arises from the reader (how humanity got wiped out) was indeed answered, but the after story line, that of Snowman rather than Jimmy, was left unanswered.
If you like a good, cautionary tale, one with a lot of imagination and quite a bit of social commentary mixed in, I would highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the MaddAddam series.

Oryx and Crake Feature

ISBN13: 9780385721677
Condition: New
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Oryx and Crake Overview

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.

Oryx and Crake Specifications

In Oryx and Crake, a science fiction novel that is more Swift than Heinlein, more cautionary tale than "fictional science" (no flying cars here), Margaret Atwood depicts a near-future world that turns from the merely horrible to the horrific, from a fool's paradise to a bio-wasteland. Snowman (a man once known as Jimmy) sleeps in a tree and just might be the only human left on our devastated planet. He is not entirely alone, however, as he considers himself the shepherd of a group of experimental, human-like creatures called the Children of Crake. As he scavenges and tends to his insect bites, Snowman recalls in flashbacks how the world fell apart.

While the story begins with a rather ponderous set-up of what has become a clichéd landscape of the human endgame, littered with smashed computers and abandoned buildings, it takes on life when Snowman recalls his boyhood meeting with his best friend Crake: "Crake had a thing about him even then.... He generated awe ... in his dark laconic clothing." A dangerous genius, Crake is the book's most intriguing character. Crake and Jimmy live with all the other smart, rich people in the Compounds--gated company towns owned by biotech corporations. (Ordinary folks are kept outside the gates in the chaotic "pleeblands.") Meanwhile, beautiful Oryx, raised as a child prostitute in Southeast Asia, finds her way to the West and meets Crake and Jimmy, setting up an inevitable love triangle. Eventually Crake's experiments in bioengineering cause humanity's shockingly quick demise (with uncanny echoes of SARS, ebola, and mad cow disease), leaving Snowman to try to pick up the pieces. There are a few speed bumps along the way, including some clunky dialogue and heavy-handed symbols such as Snowman's broken watch, but once the bleak narrative gets moving, as Snowman sets out in search of the laboratory that seeded the world's destruction, it clips along at a good pace, with a healthy dose of wry humor. --Mark Frutkin, Amazon.ca

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Customer Reviews

Oh what could have been.... - RPK - USA
This book had so much potential as Atwood is a very good writer. My main problem with the book was that her near future America could never be even close to true. The characters sit around and watch child pornography, bestiality, torture, suicides, and murders for fun as teenagers. This is a common practice in this America of Atwood's and is considered normal. Can anyone see this ever happening? No way because she ignores all morality, and thus religion, which is a major influence in the world whether the author wants it to be or not. I am not a holy roller, I don't go to church, but I can't see how in a very short time the world would be completely without any religion or morality. This lack of morality or religion happens without a war, plague, alien invasion, etc... it just happened. The characters are pretty much completely unlikeable and so is the country and the world. Please no one give Atwood the bomb because she will use it. lol, I'm joking kind of....

great read - H. Parr - Longview, WA United States
an interesting and thoughtful read about a dystopian and not so distant future. orwell fans should love it.

Foor for Thought. - L. Clouser - NC, USA
This is just one of those books that you need to be in the mood for. To peel back that first layer of 'what the hell', and have the patience to read to the end, to figure out what exactly happened. I put this book down three times before I was able to make myself read it. Snowman/Jimmy is an enjoyable narrator, a great set of eyes to look through for this particular landscape and story. Atwood portrayed an entirely realistic and probable future for the human race. Damage to the environment causes main areas of land to hold the general population, who must suffer through the hardships and grit of everyday life, while the corporations set up compounds to shield their valuable employees and their families. Jimmy is slowly revealed all the dirty details of these sheltered lives, and is apathetic to all the new horrors of the regular american pasttimes. Public executions aired online for all to see, exotic pornography, child pornography, anything available for their consumption. Oryx's personality leaves something to be desired. I believe it was intentional for her character to be so lackluster and accepting, but she left me wanting for more details. Jimmy's love for her was intriguing, but seemed unrealistic.
I loved Atwood's portrayal of the ultimate human fear. A terrorist with a brain. The ability to end the human race, so idealistic that he's willing to sacrifice himself. Though this was almost a generic apocolyptic novel, which I've read a lot of lately, the selling point was the production of a new genetically engineered humanoid. Basically the perfect human, Crake's legacy. Crake's absolute power is thwarted when the new people begin to migrate towards ideals he'd intended to alter out. The foreshadow was brilliant, and definitely left me hanging on the implications. The mystery of Crake's true intentions is some serious food for thought. This book really makes you think, and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up The Year of the Flood.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 31, 2010 19:05:04

Books Science Fiction & Fantasy

Tuesday, August 31, 2010