Oryx and Crake

paperback, 436 pages

Published March 23, 2004 by Time Warner Books Uk.

ISBN:
978-1-84408-028-1
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4 stars (76 reviews)

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.

30 editions

Review of 'Oryx and Crake [Hardcover] Atwood, Margaret,' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I had a few moments of doubt while reading this book, but who cares because I finished it in four days, so I'm pretty sure I thought it was amazing. By starting the review like that I can say I really enjoyed the experience of reading it while giving no real critique. This is a method of self-preservation. I need to bury all the questions and thoughts it digs up, and move beyond the horror so I'm not totally arrested and useless. This was my first Atwood novel. Won't be my last.

Review of 'Oryx and Crake [Hardcover] Atwood, Margaret,' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

I kept waiting for it to get interesting or even make sense, but neither of those was to happen. I suppose that had I gone digging into the whole thing, I may have been able to restore some sense out of it, but from what I heard, it was definitely not worth the effort. I know that Margaret Atwood has it in her (I love The Handmaid's Tale which I purchased when it first came out in paperback [what memories of my old college days]), but she certainly does not demonstrate it in this book. Sigh.

aaahhh I love this book

5 stars

MA has hitched her wagon to a bunch of problematic shit in recent days but this book fucking rules. It had a huge influence on me as a teen and just rocked my socks as I listened to the killer audiobook performance by Campbell Scott. Excited to discuss with the book club next week. Corknut!

Review of 'Oryx and Crake [Hardcover] Atwood, Margaret,' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. You learn early on that the protagonist (pretty much the only-agonist) is the last person (or almost) left alive after a biological catastrophe.

I have seen writers take several approaches to outlining how the world ended. I have noticed two ares in which these approaches vary:

(a) how much information about the cause of the world's end is given in total (in [b:Oryx and Crake|15973770|Oryx and Crake|Jesse Russell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355145594s/15973770.jpg|21725418] you are told everything; in [b:The Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320606344s/6288.jpg|3355573] you are told almost nothing), and

(b) the time arrow (which can be crooked or straight, can be interspersed with the main narrative as flashbacks (as in [b:Oryx and Crake|15973770|Oryx and Crake|Jesse Russell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355145594s/15973770.jpg|21725418]) or can be simultaneous with the time of the narrative (as in [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1213131305s/149267.jpg|1742269]), or there can be other approaches.

In this book you are eventually given full detail on how …

Review of 'Oryx and Crake' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Jimmy was a member of a scientific elite, living in isolation, suffering through bitter loneliness. Then an unnamed apocalypse came along, now he is known as Snowman and he may be one of the few survivors. This post-apocalyptic hermit resides near; what he refers to as Crakers—strange human-like creatures. In flashbacks the story develops, the Crakers, Wolvogs, Pigoons and Rakunks are assorted life forms that are the products of genetic engineering.

Oryx and Crake are the symbols of a fractured society, which Jimmy was once a part of. This is where trying to explain this novel can get complex. There are two different worlds within this book the post-apocalyptic world but then there are the flashbacks. The dystopian world was far more interesting for me. Much like Super Sad True Love Story. this is a dystopian world that I can see coming, corporation’s rule the world and pornography has become …

Review of 'Oryx and Crake' on Goodreads

2 stars

After an apocalyptic disaster, Snowman is the sole caretaker of a group of Crakers--a simple-minded, genetically-engineered people. But his past haunts him, and he relives the events leading up to the world-altering disaster.

It's hard for me to write anything about this novel without comparing it to Atwood's brilliant "Blind Assassin". The structure is very similar: an important event happened in the past, and the narrator slowly reveals the past while continuing on their life in their present. It's a tactic that worked well in "The Blind Assassin" because the narrator is a grandmother that I'm sure every reader could relate to. However, in "Oryx and Crake", the narrator is a crusty, disgruntled, semi-isolated man who is about as unappealing and uninteresting as a character can get. With "The Blind Assassin", the past event is a death, and we are intrigued right from the beginning because of the human connection, …

Review of 'Oryx and Crake' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It started with growing human organs inside pigs - pigoons they call them - but scientists were intent on solving all of humankind's problems with genetic engineering and the big businesses just wanted to make more money. In the future, a man now known as Snowman lives alone in a tree. He must watch over the Children of Crake, with their green eyes, UV resistant skin and childlike thoughts and try not to dwell on his memories, especially not the whisperings of his lost love, Oryx.

The story of what happened is told through Snowman's flashbacks, from when he was known as Jimmy. Even when he was a young boy, he was living in a somewhat dystopian world, his parents working within a research facility with no contact from the outside world other than dubious internet access. The world that Snowman lives in is considerably different and the information is …

Review of 'Oryx and Crake' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow. Oryx and Crake is a masterpiece of literature. I almost didn't read it because of my disappointment in [b:The Blind Assassin|78433|The Blind Assassin|Margaret Atwood|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416HQRCQjnL.SL75.jpg|3246409], which I mention not to further disparage but rather because I'm the third person I've spoken to who feels similarly, and I would hate for anyone else to miss out.

Oryx and Crake is phenomenal. Yes, it hits on the major tropes of our time: commercialization, corporate ownership (of ideas, culture, people), isolation via computers and instant gratification and, of course, genetic engineering. And in all of those areas, Atwood draws apt, occasionally chill-worthy parallels. Even without agreeing with all of her conclusions, the skill is evident. But nearly all of those points have been made by roughly a trillion other dystopic fantasy novels and reading it yet another time, even if superlatively done, would not be worth it in and of itself. …

Review of 'Oryx and Crake' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Rant Alert

Overall, this was a very good book. I personally have little or no faith in the writing abilities of Margret Atwood, as I had read many of her short stories and poems in school. This book, however, was strongly suggested to me, and loving books as much as I do, I decided to give it a chance. For the most part I was surprised. I greatly enjoyed it, once I got into it (as it has a slightly slow start).

In the end, though, I feel greatly betrayed: I read nearly 400 pages, and even started to change my mind about Atwood's writing abilities, only to come to the final page to find... nothing. THere is no ending! The book does not end! This might appeal to some people... some people might not MIND inferring the ending of a 400 page story that they took time out of …

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