Summary: a good book about the downfall of civilization written by an author that doesn’t normally write science fiction.
Oryx and Crake is highbrow science-fiction. It’s not hard science fiction, like something written by Clarke or Sagan, where you’ll learn plenty of physics along the way. I mean it’s written by an author with literary credentials. Mainstream critics tend to all say the same thing about this book: “It’s sci-fi, but it’s good,” which is more than a little insulting to the rest of us. That put aside, this is a good book.
Most of the book reads sort of like what you would expect from everything else Atwood writes, despite the futuristic setting: children lose their innocence and discover their parents aren’t saints; love turns to jealousy; admiration turns to hate and fear and people do things they previously never could have imagined. In the end, which is usually where the book starts, the characters try to piece together some meaning out of it all, and grieve their loss.
If I didn’t like this book, I would say it’s sort of like A Separate Peace meets The Omega Man. But I did like this book. However, it’s still some seriously emotional stuff.
Margaret Atwood’s style by this point is well established: her characters change names when their situations change. The book starts off at the end, and the reader discovers what happened when the characters reflect on their lives in thoughts and conversations. Margaret Atwood loves writing about male-female and parent-child dynamics, and the subconscious forces that drive us, and Oryx and Crake is no exception.
I’m not going to run through the entire plot, but the book begins with somebody named Snowman picking through the detritus of western civilization. The plot unwinds while Snowman reflects on his life from childhood until the present. Along the way, we get the story of how the little boy named Jimmy grows up in a world that looks sort of like our near future, and becomes Snowman right after that civilization comes crashing down around him.
In Jimmy/Snowman’s childhood, the world looks vaguely like a more privatized, slightly more technically advanced version of today. As an adult, civilization has collapsed, Snowman is all alone, and he spends his time picking through the wreckage looking for snacks.
I’d wager that at least half of the books on the shelves in the sci-fi section in any bookstore revolve around some sort end-of-the-world scenario, leaving one or a few survivors to make sense out of it all. Atwood dodges the rookie mistake of trying to make her scenario seem plausible, or even worse, mentioning certain years, or real-life politicians. Instead, she goes in the opposite direction. We piece together a picture of the world in the future from snippets of conversation, consumer products, and advertising. We don’t get a detailed roadmap of how we got to a world where corporations run most everything, and their employees live in combination housing developments/office parks/shopping malls.
Crake is Jimmy’s childhood friend; they grow up together in the same private compound where their parents work. They play computer games together, they get high, they watch inordinate amounts of porn (no word on whether Atwood lurked on slashdot to research).
Like a lot of the little aspects of life in this future world, the computer games that Jimmy and Crake play are fleshed out almost to the point that it’s hard to believe these aren’t real games. “War of the Roses” is one game; it seems sort of like Magic The Gathering, or Pokemon, except the mythical monsters are replaced with the highs and lows of humanity. One player can play the Holocaust card, and another player can play the Sistine Chapel card” to negate it. Crake actually gets his name from another game, “Extinctathon”, where the players take turns wiping out species.
The boys grow apart. While Jimmy becomes more aware that he has none of his parents’ aptitude for science, Crake takes off in school. Jimmy goes to a crappy art school and Crake goes to a top science university where student research is sponsored by corporations.
Later, they come back together when Crake hires Jimmy to write marketing copy for the Crake’s corporation. Jimmy becomes possessive of Oryx, a woman who previously worked as a not entirely consensual prostitute in some unknown third-world region. Now, Crake employs her at his company, and they have some nebulous relationship that drives Jimmy away from Crake.
I liked this book because Atwood made the characters seem real. She really captures the alienated teenage boy vibe in Jimmy. The highlights of the book are Jimmy’s adolescence. Besides that, Atwood creates a fascinating view of a possible future, with pigs that are genetically engineered to provide compatible organs to humans, chickens that are refactored without sense organs, brains, or anything extraneous to the purpose of getting fat enough to harvest as quickly as possible, and popular revolts battling with corporatization. Inside all that clever scenery, there’s some pretty good characterization of children abandoned by their mothers that grow into alienated adults.
The next paragraphs could be construed as spoilers, so stop reading if that sort of thing bothers you.
Besides all the good things I mentioned above, I gotta say that the ending of Oryx and Crake left me dissapointed. We never get an explanation for why Crake wiped out humanity. We spend the whole book wondering about how civilization gets destroyed, and we eventually find out how, but we never get to the more important issue of why Crake destroyed it. Crake has been a cypher throughout the plot, so it’s not out-of-character, but, like I said above, the ending is a little dissapointing.
Maybe Atwood is trying to make some point about humanity in general: people do crazy stuff and the rest of us are stuck trying to pick up the pieces and figure out why; but, to borrow a line from Marge,
“That’s a pretty lousy lesson.”
Hi, loved the book.
I noticed that when Atwood referenced the Children of Crake, it was in terms of food or cattle. Their skin is butter, honey, cream, rose, tea, chocolate. They ruminate over vegetable foods (green juices dripping from their chins) that humans can’t eat. They’re docile and peaceful and harmless, even charming, like lambs. But annoying enough that you might want to strike out at them. And they can be killed with impunity.
Jimmy is always talking about his need for protein and how he’s going to die of hunger. He howls like a lion, he laughs like a hyena. By the end of the book you’re set up to believe that those pieces of roasted meat could be . . . Crakers. And it would seem perfectly logical. Crakers is good eatin’.
And Jimmy as Jehovah, a scary creature who is an object of fascination and mythology from a distance: “There’s no telling what he might do”–how like God is that?
And the larger point: that to survive we have to eat ourselves. And the personalities of the Crakers would seem to indicate that we would consume our best selves first.
I realize this is an unusual take, as I haven’t seen it elsewhere. Atwood is evasive about the book, so she’s not saying.
nice post
test
Watching inordinate amounts of porn could either lead to obsessive masturbation and other psychological side effects. That's why like in everything else, it should be kept to moderation.
i really like your blog its very nice information.
Check out my new blog
http://fatloss-plans.blogspot.com/ You can find easy ways to lose weight, fat loss dieting
well the plot will unwinds while Snowman reflects on his life from childhood until the present. Along the way, we get the story of how the little boy named Jimmy grows up in a world that looks sort of like our near future.
Thanks and Regards
Nowadays, those kinds of books explaining about the downfall of civilization is necessary. I think you have done a good job.
by thoi trang
Thanks for sharing the posts…
They play computer games together, they get high, they watch inordinate amounts of porn (no word on whether Atwood lurked on slashdot to research).
simply brilliant. Thanks no words to say other than this for such an informative work. When I can have the next article keep working over this wonderful work.
i would love to read more from you on this
Have a nice day
slip gilly
______________________________________________
Thanks for such a nice post.
Have a nice day
raven conway
______________________________________________
That Sounds interesting, I agree with you.Please keep at your good work, I would come back often.*
I subscribed to your blog when is the next post
respect
umper klis
______________________________________________
nice post
I think Microsoft will have a huge advantage because they still have a PC outlet to have more games.
Don't listen to mean people. You are awesome and you have a huge heart.
Respect
Joy
______________________________________________
Great post, what you said is really helpful to me. I can't agree with you anymore. I have been talking with my friend about, he though it is really interesting as well. Keep up with your good work, I would come back to you.
i added this to my collge report
Have a nice day
paul
______________________________________________
Mortgage rates
I subscribed to your blog when is the next post
thanks
ginney
______________________________________________
cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentist philadelphia | dentists in philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia | cosmetic dentists philadelphia | dentists philadelphia
this is nice information need to know moreNice post I Like your site very well and continue to do so. I have bookmarked your site.
regards
ginney
______________________________________________
James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James | James
Well this is very interesting indeed.Would love to read a little more of this. Great post.
thanks
swich
______________________________________________
Jk | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Mp | Mp | Lo | Jk | Mp | Mp | Sf | Jk | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Lo | Mp | Lo | Jk | Sf | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Sf | Sf | Jk | Jk | Lo | Mp | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Lo | Jk | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Lo | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Jk | Sf | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Mp | Jk | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Mp | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Mp | Jk | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Jk | Sf | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Mp | Sf | Lo | Lo | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Mp | Lo | Mp | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Mp | Sf | Lo | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Mp | Lo | Jk | Mp | Mp | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Jk | Mp | Sf | Lo | Mp | Lo | Jk | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Sf | Sf | Lo | Jk | Lo | Sf
Well this is very interesting indeed.Would love to read a little more of this. Great post.
thanks
spoach
______________________________________________
Sf | Mp | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Mp | Mp | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Jk | Sf | Lo | Mp | Lo | Mp | Lo | Sf | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Sf | Mp | Jk | Mp | Mp | Lo | Jk | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Mp | Mp | Mp | Lo | Jk | Mp | Jk | Lo | Sf | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Sf | Jk | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Sf | Sf | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Mp | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Mp | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Jk | Sf | Mp | Lo | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Jk | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Mp | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Jk | Mp | Mp | Mp | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Mp | Mp | Lo | Jk | Mp | Mp | Jk | Mp | Sf | Lo | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Mp | Sf | Jk | Lo | Mp | Sf | Lo | Jk | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Mp | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Jk | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Lo | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Jk | Mp | Sf | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Jk | Sf | Mp | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Sf | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Lo | Sf | Lo | Sf | Lo | Jk | Mp | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo
Well this is very interesting indeed.Would love to read a little more of this. Great post.
Respect
spoach
______________________________________________
Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Lo | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Jk | Sf | Mp | Sf | Mp | Sf | Mp | Jk | Mp | Sf | Lo | Jk | Jk | Jk | Lo | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Lo | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Mp | Sf | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Jk | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Mp | Mp | Lo | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Jk | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Sf | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Lo | Mp | Sf | Jk | Lo | Jk | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Jk | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf
Well this is very interesting indeed.Would love to read a little more of this. Great post.
Respect
spoach
______________________________________________
Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Lo | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Lo | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Jk | Sf | Mp | Sf | Mp | Sf | Mp | Jk | Mp | Sf | Lo | Jk | Jk | Jk | Lo | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Lo | Jk | Lo | Mp | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Mp | Mp | Sf | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Jk | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Mp | Mp | Jk | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Sf | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Lo | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Mp | Mp | Lo | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Lo | Jk | Jk | Lo | Lo | Mp | Sf | Jk | Jk | Mp | Sf | Jk | Mp | Jk | Sf | Mp | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Jk | Mp | Lo | Lo | Sf | Sf | Mp | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Jk | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Lo | Sf | Sf | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Lo | Jk | Sf | Jk | Lo | Jk | Sf | Lo | Lo | Mp | Jk | Jk | Mp | Mp | Sf | Mp | Lo | Lo | Lo | Sf | Mp | Mp | Lo | Mp | Sf | Jk | Lo | Jk | Lo | Sf | Sf | Sf | Sf | Mp | Sf | Sf | Mp | Jk | Jk | Jk | Lo | Jk | Mp | Sf | Mp | Lo | Jk | Jk | Sf