Sign in with Facebook
Tatiana's Reviews > Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)
by
by
Tatiana's review
bookshelves: 2010, contemporary, favorites, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, booker
Dec 07, 2009
bookshelves: 2010, contemporary, favorites, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, booker
I wonder if all Margaret Atwoods books are like this one? Having read "Oryx and Crake" and "The Handmaid's Tale," I am curious now how many other ways of horrifying me she has up her sleeve.
"Oryx and Crake" is a dystopian (or as Atwood calls it herself, a speculative fiction) novel set in a future where genetic engineering rules the world. The story is told from the POV of Snowman, a seemingly last Homo sapiens sapiens on Earth. He is surrounded by the new breed of humans - passive, docile Children of Crake who are physically flawless, void of envy and jealousy, do not understand violence or sexual drive, unable to be artistic or comprehend technology. As the story progresses, through Snowman's recollections, we gradually learn the sequence of events leading to the fall of humanity as he knew it and Snowman's own contribution to it.
The structure of the book is very similar to that of "The Handmaid's Tale." So if you liked the writing style of that book, with constant shift of tenses, past and present mingled together, you'll enjoy "Oryx and Crake" too. Once again, Atwood takes a current trend (this time it's bio/genetic engineering) and extrapolates it to an insane extent, creating a horrifying world of social disparity, violence, genetic hybrids, raging man-made viruses... The author's imagination is limitless, her command of English language is mind-blowing. This book is so much more than a science fiction novel that it so often labeled. It is a deeply philosophical book that raises numerous questions: is it wise to artificially alter something created and perfected by Nature over millions of years? does a man have a right to engineer a "perfect human" and decide who lives and who dies? or is there such a thing as a "perfect human"?
Just like "The Handmaid's Tale," the ending is uncertain. The fate of Snowman and humanity is questionable. Will the humanity survive? Will Crakers overtake? Are Crakers really what Crake intended them to be - the perfect beings? There are no answers, and I am happy there aren't. This book is not intended to tell us what is right and what is wrong, rather it makes us think about what might be...
Reading challenge: #13, 3 of 5
"Oryx and Crake" is a dystopian (or as Atwood calls it herself, a speculative fiction) novel set in a future where genetic engineering rules the world. The story is told from the POV of Snowman, a seemingly last Homo sapiens sapiens on Earth. He is surrounded by the new breed of humans - passive, docile Children of Crake who are physically flawless, void of envy and jealousy, do not understand violence or sexual drive, unable to be artistic or comprehend technology. As the story progresses, through Snowman's recollections, we gradually learn the sequence of events leading to the fall of humanity as he knew it and Snowman's own contribution to it.
The structure of the book is very similar to that of "The Handmaid's Tale." So if you liked the writing style of that book, with constant shift of tenses, past and present mingled together, you'll enjoy "Oryx and Crake" too. Once again, Atwood takes a current trend (this time it's bio/genetic engineering) and extrapolates it to an insane extent, creating a horrifying world of social disparity, violence, genetic hybrids, raging man-made viruses... The author's imagination is limitless, her command of English language is mind-blowing. This book is so much more than a science fiction novel that it so often labeled. It is a deeply philosophical book that raises numerous questions: is it wise to artificially alter something created and perfected by Nature over millions of years? does a man have a right to engineer a "perfect human" and decide who lives and who dies? or is there such a thing as a "perfect human"?
Just like "The Handmaid's Tale," the ending is uncertain. The fate of Snowman and humanity is questionable. Will the humanity survive? Will Crakers overtake? Are Crakers really what Crake intended them to be - the perfect beings? There are no answers, and I am happy there aren't. This book is not intended to tell us what is right and what is wrong, rather it makes us think about what might be...
Reading challenge: #13, 3 of 5
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
Oryx and Crake.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
December 7, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
January 12, 2010
–
Finished Reading
January 13, 2010
– Shelved as:
2010
January 13, 2010
– Shelved as:
contemporary
January 26, 2010
– Shelved as:
favorites
April 3, 2010
– Shelved as:
dystopias-post-apocalyptic
November 21, 2010
– Shelved as:
booker
Comments Showing 1-46 of 46 (46 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Misty
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Jan 10, 2010 04:28PM
Ohhhh, I love this.
reply
|
flag
I loved The Handmaid's Tale. I hope this one will not disappoint either
Good to know:) I am yet to read enough to have an opinion, just started.
Bad reviews won't stop me if I like the author, very often to my own detriment:)
I actually quite enjoyed this shifting:)
So, what did you think of Crakers? I was pretty spooked by the blue bellies and eating basically cr@p
Oh Gyspy, don't let the disgruntled reviews of YotF put you off, I thought it was fantastic, gave it 5 stars just like O&C. And rumor has it that this will be a trilogy, there will be one other book after YotF.
I read somewhere that YOTF is not really a sequel, but kind of like a side story with some common secondary characters. I am very interested in reading it, but I need a break to recover from this one...
Have you read The Blind Assassin? It's not dystopian like this or HMT, but it's probably my favorite of her books.
No, I haven't. I will try it next probably.
Gypsy wrote: "I was planning to go on to read The Year of the Flood, which is sort of the sequel to this book, but the reviews aren't what I'd hoped. Still undecided."I just bought Year of the Flood. Haven't had a chance to get to it yet but I am excited.
The wolvogs disturbed me more than the Crakers, because puppies make you want to pet them. When something's cute, you want to cuddle, you just can't help it. So how much of a mindf*ck is it when you want to cuddle something that wants to eat you. And everytime you look at it, it still looks cuddly.
And how about those chicken breasts growing on something alive but brainless. That was super creepy...
So...when I last posted on here, I hadn't read The Year of the Flood yet, which I have since done. I really wasn't sure how it was going to work or if I was going to like it, but I loved it. Read it if you haven't. It's interesting to see how everything ties together and weaves in, and it's really interesting to have it told from women's povs this time.
I have read The Year of the Flood and liked it, although not quite as much as Oryx and Crake. I also heard a rumor that there might be another companion to these novels. Hope it's true.
Telling a story from the point of view of an Homo sapiens sapiens must be really original.
I would say that not all Atwoods works are similiar- "Surfacing" is very realistic and I found it boring where as "Oryx and Crake" is imaginative. I like her creative stories much better.
I've been afraid to read "The Blind Assassin" just because I don't want a repeat of "Surfacing"...reviews on "The Blind Assassin" seem too mixed for me to take the plunge, although Tatiana I would be interested in what your thoughts were about it b/c I often agree with your reviews/tastes.
Also, can't wait to read TYOTF.
I know what you mean, Autumn. I've read 5 books by Atwood so far. I loved all her speculative fiction and disliked her realistic.
Man. I loved this in the beginning but go so overwhelmed by the pedophilia that it was simply too dark.
no most margaret atwood books are not like this at all, thankfully.
I'm surprised to see you say this "This book is so much more than a science fiction novel that it so often labeled. It is a deeply philosophical book that raises numerous questions..."Because, really, there are two kinds of sci fi novels: action/adventure tales, and one exactly like this one. Taking something and extrapolating it out to really make you think about it. Both are good, but the latter are the ones that really stay with us, I believe. Another author who often write this kind of scifi is Robert J. Sawyer.
"I wonder if all Margaret Atwoods books are like this one? "No, not at all. She is an extraordinarily varied author. For example:
Wilderness Tips is a collection of stories with a sad and often vengeful twist, many concerning strong, clever women overcoming a variety of troubled backgrounds.
Cat's Eye is the straightforward tale of a contemporary Canadian woman's life with themes of abusive friendship, art, and early feminism.
Surfacing is a story of loss and struggle for identity around a remote Canadian lake in the 60s.
And of course, one of her most famous is the one Megan mentioned.
I have just started reading this and was very unaware of the books premise, your review has really helped me and I look forward to reading this one
I just finished this book today and I loved it. I've never really been a fan of the science fiction genre and was growing tired of the current trend of dystopian novels but Oryx and Crake was a phenomenal novel. I loved Atwood's use of vocabulary and her ability to really make you feel the horror of what has happened to mankind. I also like the past and present tense way in which she wrote. This book really makes you think about wat is "right" and "wrong" in science and how close we are as humans to bridging that line.
OMG, TATIANA! YOU LOVED IT. Coming from you, that is indeed high praise. It's a wonder that The New York Review of Books hasn't asked you to be one of its critics. Smile.
I tried reading the handmaid's tale and ended up refunding it because I couldn't get into it at all.
I have never read Margaret Atwood yet , though I have read most of the stories of Alice Munro, another Canadian writer. I have one collection of her stories. Your review has certainly provoked my interest (btw, I have interest in genetic science and so this book should appeal to me)
Have you read Alias Grace by MA? Its my most favorite of her books them Oryx and Crate!
I enjoyed this book just as much as you. Thanks for writing a worthy review that gives us all a little info about Atwood's books.
Good review! I don't like reading reviews before I read, not only because of the spoilers, but because i like the thrill of not knowing what the book is about at all.But I read reviews afterwards, and I agree with you in this one.
Have you read more of Atwood's books, then? I have read the exact same as you when you wrote this review. Starting now with The year of the flood, which shares "universe" with Oryx and Crake, so I guess it'll be more or less the same.
I am reading it right now, after Handmaid's Tale. I really love the book and like your comments also. Thank you for sharing.
LOVED your review! You’re take on things was absolutely right on!
Some people in the world is aware of how much suffering is spread and the evilness underneath it all. I love this novel!
What a spot on review!
Loved Oryx and Crake my 2nd favorite Atwood novel after Alias Grace....my favorite.
This could've used a spoiler tag with all that talk about the ending!!!
Reading this book during the COVID 19 pandemic is frightening. Margaret Atwood has accurately predicted the future and it just gets worse and worse. Now the entire west coast is on fire and our government still pretends that everything is normal.
Your description is more enticing then what is here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ!
Well put, thank you.
Read Alias Grace if you haven’t already. It’s by Margaret Atwood. I loved it!
I didn't mean to read this book. I learned it was a Trilogy after reading The Year of the Flood first. And here I am! Just started and getting oriented.
