137. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood


Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Pages: 374
Ages: 18+
Finished: Jul. 29 2009
First Published: 2003
Genre: dystopia, science fiction
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

Snowman wakes before dawn.



Reason for Reading: Atwood has a new book coming out in September which, while not a sequel to this one, is set in the same world and could be called a parallel novel. So I decided I should read this one first.

Comments: Humankind has been wiped out as far as we know and Snowman lives in a tree, to keep safe from the genetically altered predator animals and is the guardian over the new race of genetically created "people". Snowman alternately tells of the life he leads now with the story of his past and how "the end of the world" came to be.

It is an incredibly realistic version of a possible future that really is frightening to think about. Science has become God and anything that it can do it will do. Society encourages s*xual pursuits, body altering procedures, mind altering substances, reality TV to the extreme and all this without any morals or ethics. Any crackpot who may raise such an issue is pooh-poohed with a wave of the hand and dismissed as an insignificant insect. This is a world that in many ways we can see our own world now easily becoming. Very scary stuff.

A powerful book. Written with Atwood's usual mastery of narrative. A real-page turner and time takes on a different dimension as you read and suddenly look up and notice *that* much time has gone by already. Written only 6 years ago now, this already has become a classic of the dystopia genre and a must read for serious readers of such.


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Comments

  1. I gave this one a 3.5/5 (good) rating. I was disappointed in the ending. I have the ARC of the new book coming out, but didn't realize the loose connection. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get to it before publication. I'm trying.

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  2. I agree with you about the ending. I didn't personally like it. Very ambiguous, and that's why I gave a 4 rather than a 5 rating. But after thinking about it some I decided that what happened next really didn't matter. It's what had already happened that was the point.

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  3. I just received the ARC of the new book, and I had no idea it was parallel to this one. I'll have to check this one out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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  4. I have been planning to reread this in preparation for her new book, but we will see how it works out. I hardly remember it, so can't say anything on the ending...

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  5. I love Margaret Atwood and I loved this book! I was so excited to hear she is doing a parallel book. If I have time I will try and re-read this before the new one comes out. I wasn't disappointed by the ending as I have read enough Atwood books to know she often doesn't end her novels grr!

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  6. I have this one on the shelf but I haven't been in a huge hurry to read it despite my attraction to all things Atwood. I've heard such mixed things about it and have been kind of scared, but you've definitely given me a little boast to get to it.

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