Towering and intrepid… Like most literary imagining of the future, [Atwood’s] vision is mournful, bleak, and infernal, and is punctuated, in Atwood style, with the occasional macabre joke– Perhaps not unlike Dante’s own literary vision
– The New Yorker
I will not spoil the story for Oryx and Crake. All the information about this book is more or less found in the plot summary on the back of the book. I also rarely read, but oryx and crake resonated so strongly with me, that it felt necessary to write this.
Let’s talk about Oryx and Crake.
Oryx and Crake describes the life of Jimmy, now known as Snowman after the extinction of humanity. It follows a back and forth between Snowman’s current condition and his life leading up to the referenced extinction through a sheer focus on genetic engineering of giant corporations. He struggles to survive in the aftermath, facing the ruined and abandoned civilization he once knew as the suspected last human on earth. With this all grounding him, Snowman also is burdened by the death of Crake and Oryx, who were the key relationships in his life.
Atwood and her Ingenuity
I probably would have never read this book if not for the English Class curriculum, but I’m glad I did. Margaret Atwood wrote this story in a very raw and unbridled style. Like the beginning quote by the New York Times, Atwood is very blunt. Those macabre jokes and banter she throws in mixes incredibly well, without interrupting the flow of the story. I flipped to 20 random pages during the time of writing this, and each held at least one brusque and spontaneous side-remark or line. Some are vulgar, all are satiric. That’s what hooked me into this story.
She writes the key characters noting their flaws and little habits and personality traits and integrates them in a natural flowy way. I’ve never read a book with such a raw voice before.
I usually think of Science Fiction with very technologically advanced high movement cities. The urban areas in Oryx and Crake are kind of like that, but not quite. They are far more close, even if the technology is different. It’s apocalyptic but familiar, and I feel that is what makes themes so effective.
Overall
I don’t have the literary knowledge to fully articulate why Atwood’s style of writing comes on so distinctly to me. It’s not just the bluntness, there is so much more. I don’t need to shill for Atwood, her credentials already speak for her skill and literary genius.
I won’t say that Oryx and Crake is one of those ‘life-changing must read’ books that you see circulated. However, it’s an incredibly enjoyable ride if you delve into science fiction stories.
Sources: Featured Image/ Image 1 (Book Cover)/Image 2 (Margaret Atwood Profile)
