Oryx and Crake

Rating:
Summary: Worthy successor to Frankenstein
Review: Margaret Atwood's prophetic Oryx and Crake is terrifying, a nightmare that could become morning's reality. People are comparing Atwood here to George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, and Oryx and Crake to The Time Machine, Brave New World, and 1984. While it does hold kinship with these works, Oryx and Crake is more of a noble descendant of Mary Shelley's gothic classic, Frankenstein, the romantic thriller published in 1818. For instance, consider the following line from a Frankenstein review: "...it is a subversive and morbid story warning against the dehumanization of art and the corrupting influence of science. Packed with allusions and literary references, it is also one of the best thrillers ever written." That same line easily applies to Oryx and Crake. (The real horror here is that Vernon God Little won the Booker Prize the same year that Oryx and Crake was a short-listed runner-up.)

Like Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the supergenius known as Crake wants to develop a superior human being. But whereas Frankenstein was limited to using electricity, and developed a man who looked like, and was treated like, a monster, Crake has the biotech world of our not so distant tomorrow, so he genetically engineers not just one but a whole tribe of superior beings in his Paradice Project. (Only one example of the many cleverly misspelled terms used in this dark, often humorous novel). Called Crakers, this green-eyed new species of man, which comes in assorted skin colors, is capable of warding off diseases, and incapable of human frailties, such as jealousy and violence. Crake is not the scientist's real name, only one borrowed from a computer game in which the players use names of extinct species, such as Oryx, the name of the woman loved by both Crake and Snowman, our narrator.

As the story opens, Snowman, possibly the last human alive, sleeps in trees at night and forages through the ruins of humanity during the day. He tries to survive not only for himself, but also for the Crakers, for whom he is now the caretaker. Snowman was known as Jimmy, and we get to know Jimmy, as well as Crake and Oryx, through Snowman's flashbacks to their youthful past. Their past is our near future, one in which brilliant scientists live and work in sterile Compounds, while the rest of humanity lives in the disease-ridden Pleeblands (where the suburbs and malls are). In the business-oriented Compounds they know how to cure diseases, but to stay in business, they need to create new illnesses; there is no profit in good health. In other words, you need to create a virus so that you can sell your next anti-virus product (much like some software firms have been accused of doing in today's world). At the same time, some companies are creating superior watchdogs, called Wolvogs, and there are also the Pigoons, very large hogs that supply human body parts. So we have many Frankensteins in the future, giving us monsters of all kinds, for, when released, the Wolvogs and Pigoons find humans to be tasty morsels. Poetic justice, perhaps?

My favorite line is on page 205 when Jimmy finds out about the Wolvogs: "What if they get out? Go on the rampage? Start breeding, then the population goes out of control - like those big green rabbits?" Then on the next page he asks himself: "How much is too much, how far is too far?" And therein is the heart of the book.

In structuring the novel, the author was clever in giving Snowman/Jimmy two names; Snowman is in the present, Jimmy in the past. When the reader sees the name Jimmy, you know you are in a flashback, and vice versa. Of course, Atwood is one of the best at segueing into different places and time periods, as she did in the Booker Prize winning The Blind Assassin (2000). As you read, you see Jimmy age from child to adult, while, as Snowman, he tries to survive a world of multiplying terrors. The first half of the book is interesting and suspenseful, as Atwood unfolds the back-story and provides the necessary technicalities. Then when she has Snowman revisit the scene of the crime (the greatest murder in human history), the book turns into an edge-of-your-seat thriller, with the razor-sharp tusks of a pack of Pigoons literally snapping at the hero's heels. As a former farm boy who used to have nightmares about our large hogs ripping me apart, these scenes had me sweating a bit.

Not all mysteries are solved, only the major ones, leaving us to ponder the whys of Crake's insane actions, and the fate of the new beings. And not until the end do we find out why Jimmy, a non-numbers person, has survived. "My name is Snowman..." he tells the Crakers. "...I come from the place of Oryx and Crake." It is a place I will never forget, partly because Atwood has made it so real, but also because I know it is all quite possible. Our Frankensteins are already hard at work in their labs.

Rating:
Summary: A page-turner but not Atwood's best
Review: This books follows Atwood's usual formula of a slight mystery and a slow revel. The plot centres around one character, Snowman, who is living in an abandoned post-global warming world. He retraces the events of his life, starting with his childhood on an elite research compound where people work to develop genetically modified creatures, a place separate from the "pleeblands" where most ordinary humans leave. Snowman also slowly reveals the characters Oryx and Crake and their role in his life and current situation.

Atwood definitely succeeds at creating a sense of place - a terrifying, overgrown world of characters split between the elite research facilities of Snowman's childhood and the dangerous "pleeblands" where average people live. I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to find how Snowman got to the place he was.

But the characters in this novel aren't fleshed out. At the end we are still left wondering about the motivations of Oryx and Crake and Snowman himself.

There is also a child pornography sub-plot that was kind of pointless. We are expecting a great denouement but get none. I was left wondering "so what?" Why was this tawdry industry explored if not to offer us some sort of meaningful criticism of it?

To a lesser degree, the same is true of the genetic modification theme. Atwood is clearly horrified by the dangers but also seems fascinated by the possibilities, and in the end the question is not entirely resolved.

While I enjoyed this book, it felt more like a tawdry paperback than a novel by one of Canada's foremost authors. I am shocked that of all of her novels, this one won the Booker Prize. If you want Atwood sci-fi read The Handmaid's Tale. And if you want a compelling, mysterious read try Alias Grace.

Rating:
Summary: A very entertaining read.
Review: This was a very entertaining book and I had a good time reading it. I think what keeps it from being a great book is the author's failure to concentrate on either a literary, highbrow commentary on society and science OR an engaging adventurous sci-fi tale.

If she'd chosen the first route, she could have made her points without the simplistic, recycled, over-the-top science mumbo-jumbo which is clearly not her forte anyway (in the Handmaid's Tale the "science" behind the infertility epidemic was left appropriately vague).

If she'd chosen to go for an all-out apocalyptic anti-fairy tale she could have devoted more effort to making her world of the future more believable and Snowman's attempts at survival more credible (why is this guy living among dangerous animals unarmed and wearing a sheet that constantly falls off? Everyone else is dead there's not an extra pair of pants and a weapon lying around?) Even a potentially suicidal character would at least attend more diligently to their physical comfort. More interesting details would have upped the entertainment factor even more.

Of course, there's no reason why a book can't be both, but Oryx and Crake doesn't quite make it. Sure comes close though and I would recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A dark, fascinating novel
Review: It's been a long time since I've read a book that was difficult to put down -- but Oryx and Crake kept me intrigued till the end. In terms of energy, it's better than The Blind Assassin, but it's too dark to be my favourite Atwood novel. Atwood paints a scary picture of a future with company compounds, killer viruses, gene splicing, volatile weather, and scarce commodities. It should make us think twice about experiments in genetics and the large investments in biomedical firms some companies are making. Atwood's invention rings true -- I especially think the games Jimmy and Crake play as 14-year-olds (including Extinctathon) are clever. However, many of references in the games and the novel hark back to the 20th Century--good for the reader to relate to, but not completely realistic. In that sense, the novel is not as successful as say, Neuromancer, in which you are completely immersed in that time and place.

Some of the reviewers here see Jimmy as a static character and an average Joe. I very much disagree. He is far from average -- he's brilliant with words. However, his talent is not valued by the biomedical society of the future. He's a person with good instincts (he doesn't want to betray his mother, though he's angry at her; he questions the intentions and experiments of the brilliant Crake) trying to cope in a world where an immoral corporate elite is in control. His character growth may not be so obvious because of the structure of the novel--we are in the present and viewing the past from that vantage point.

Crake is also in intriguing character. I thought at one point he might be working with Jimmy's mother to try to save the world. But he becomes evil, distributing the virus that kills off most of the world's population. Did he send Oryx to Jimmy to deliberately create the love triangle that resulted in his death? Did the planning for that begin years before Paradice? Why did he select Jimmy--the word person--as the Crakers' caretaker? These are all questions I'd like to ask Atwood.

All in all, this novel is excellently written and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: our future revealed
Review: I found this book to be disturbingly realistic. In light of all that has been happening recently from the cloning of animals to the engineering of crops (and those are the things we know about)I found this book to be a little unnerving and at the same time very captivating. I think we should take the message of this book to heart and do what we can as individuals to keep it from becoming reality while at the same time enjoying it as fiction and using it as a topic for great discussions in book clubs and among friends.

Rating:
Summary: Staring at the stainless steel abyss
Review: A struggle, and a waste of time. I felt as if i were locked inside an airless bubble of poorly-digested secondhand "scientific" press clippings - the sort of regurgitated drivel you might find in the washbasin on a 'plane. I've read everyone of her books since "Surfacing" but no more Margaret Atwood for me. If the author were unknown surely this book would never have been published. Don't buy it. You can rescue my copy from the dumpster, if you must.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating, strange, and plausible
Review: This is the first Atwood book that I have read, and I fully intend to read more from her. This is some of the best speculative fiction out there. The characters behave realistically, in ways that many people today behave, if we are only willing to look and open our eyes to both the good and the bad that people do.
The scientific "advancements" that Atwood uses are based entirely on current scientific reseach and development. Atwood also touches on current global trades and markets, including human slavery.
Want to know a dark outcome that could happen from where we are today? Ever wonder what Huxley or Orwell would predict if they were modern contemporaries? Then start reading Atwood, because these chilling and fascinating tales may be what saves us. If not, it will surely entertain us on our downfall.

Rating:
Summary: Another reason to love Atwood!
Review: This is the reason I love Margaret Atwood. I found this novel compelling from the beginning. Although it has moments of great satire, it is a frighteningly realistic book.
Watching the direction our world seems to be moving, I found most of the ideas not only relevant, but more possible than I like. This book shows us a world, much like our own, desensitized and demoralized. Overly accepting of the corporate greed and influence that rules the planet.
The characters leave you with an appropriate amount of questions. This is not neatly wrapped up. As in real life, the reader is left to wonder about and interpret each character.
What a wonderful bookclub book. So much to discuss. I have read all of Atwood's books and I think this is definitely one of my favorites.
Margaret Atwood is one of the greatest authors of all time!

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful and Interesting Tale of the Future
Review: I just finished Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, and it was one of those books I just could not put down. I personally feel this is one of Atwood's best novels (not as good as Handmaid's Tale, but darn close). Her glimpse into the future is not that far-fetched in theory although the details are not realistic -- yet. With technology changing so dramatically and consistently, her future could soon be our future.

If you liked Handmaid's Tale, then definitely check this book out. With the right director, this would make a great movie too.

Rating:
Summary: an apocalyptic dystopia that is entirely believable
Review: This is a frightening story of biotech run amok, first in the hands of corporations that form quasi-states in protected enclaves and then under the control mysterious bio-fanatics.

The protagonist, Snowman, is venturing out of his hiding place in search of food and supplies. He is a kind of spiritual mentor to a new species of humans, perhaps the only survivors - besides his mysterious presence - of some plague or war that completely wiped out modern civilisation. Along the way, he is harassed by genetically engineered beasts with frighteningly enhanced characteristics as well as his memories of a hard life with little love.

This sense of mystery, and the revelations that eventually build a fairly complete picture of what might have happened, make this a rivetting and fascinating read. The novel pulses with life and despair, very realistic psychologically in my opinion, which is what the best science fiction can do (such as the incomparable Octavia Butler). Though some reviewers have criticized her avoidance of explaining more completely the characters of Oryx and Crake, I think that she leaves just enough unsaid to stimulate the imagination; I liked what she left out. I simply could not put the book down and read it late into the night, aided by jet lag insomnia.

In terms of the science in the book, Atwood makes a very good and consistent interpretation of trends that are visible now. While I am more skeptical about how soon (if ever) genetic material will be decifered in a truly engineerable way - the public is largely unaware of how crude most biotech experiments really are - her vision is most definitely worth noting: it is thoughtful and alarmingly human, if hyperbolic to the point of satire.

This is the first book I read by Atwood. I must admit that I find her writing style uneven: clear and vivid, by somehow lacking fluidity and elegance. But she is a very powerful novelist and visionary and I will definitely read more.

Warmly recommended.