Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

74 reviews

jcqscottclifford's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

In Oryx and Crake, Atwood presents an intriguing and broken world whose roots you slowly discover as its principal character recounts his personal history. There are many clever links readers will quickly pick up on, and her prose is well thought out. The fall of Oryx and Crake's world is different than other dystopias and 

its discussion of bioethics, animal gene splicing, and human gene splicing

ring true even 20 years later.

However, her characters can become boring and a slog, especially when they explicitly wax about the morals the book presents. The most difficult part is 

hearing about Jimmy's past, especially his difficulty with women, when I really wanted to see more of the present self wgise.

, but the end retroactively makes those parts more bearable and lets the reader feel like it wasn't worthless. Additionally, the creativity of 

the Crakers and the gene spliced animals are a delight to behold, and they are present all throughout the book

It isn't a "fun" book, but it is thought provoking and engaging. Ultimately, I finished the book and am curious how the series plays out.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Trafficking, and War

Even the world of flashbacks in this book is messy and cruel. There is the mention of child porn but without any description of rape/sexual interaction.

bethanharcourt's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I wasn't really expecting a lot of the things Jimmy got up to as a teenager. I felt quite confused about that section of the book, can see how it was a plot point, but still. The way the story was told narrative wise I enjoyed, and a glimpse into a possible future was an interesting perspective too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, and Rape

greenglass67's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is easily one of my favorites. It’s such a unique story. Snowman’s journey and his reflections upon his life as Jimmy are deeply human. He exhibits so much passion for some things and so much apathy for others. The range of his experiences and emotions is wild, but it all works together cohesively. The world Margaret Atwood creates is a very chilling commentary on technology and science, and she pushes us to question how far advanced we can get without it being too far. The ending is remarkable. There are little hints and clues laced throughout the entire book that you don’t realize until the ending ties them all together, all the pieces fit into place, and it all suddenly makes sense. It answers all the questions you have, and leaves you asking several questions more. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Trafficking, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Murder

glendagrbac's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Rape, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pedophilia

allthingsnerdy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Since i just reviewed a Becky Chambers book, it's easy to start comparing this book and Margaret Atwood's work to it. Margaret Atwood's view of humanity and the future is much bleaker and at times hard to read. But a lot of times I think it veered towards being edgy for edginess-sake, rather than just trying to present hard truths. I also prefer books that have at least a piece of hope, because it feels like then the book is just showing you the a problem without attempting any sort of solution, which feels lazy. But it feels like for this book, Atwood, is trying to show why certain solutions to a large problem won't work, which is fine and I think has value, but I guess is just not my thing. A book that I think does something similar and that I prefer is Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Child abuse, and Death

eimear_jane's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Rape, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Blood, Cannibalism, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Trafficking, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

carrionkid's review against another edition

3.5

Really kind of mid and featuring an unnecessary amount of discussing child porn but the ending got to me bro...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Violence

hannahbailey's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Unsure how to feel on this one. Atwood is such a good writer that I was pulled into the narrative and the world she'd built despite my immediate dislike for the protagonist. There are some interesting themes with a lot of 'what ifs' but my god, this was so bleak and depressing. Glad I made it to the end to see a bit of hope but it was quite the trudge and not at all what I was expecting!

Very reminiscent of 1984 and A Clockwork Orange in terms of its violence, intensity and reflections on the darker side of humanity. Fans of these novels (I was not a fan of either one) will almost definitely enjoy Oryx and Crake.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Trafficking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Cursing, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, War, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Child death, and Infidelity

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Drug use, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Violence

thedinosaurkid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great book.
If you don't like exposition I would not reccomend this to you. Over half of the book is spent remembering the past, but in the context of the world and situation it makes sense. 
Jimmy/Snowman is a fairly accurate depiction of a dude and how a dudes mind works. Oryx and Crake are fleshed out very well and Snowman's memories are played out well. The most interesting part to me is the way that Oryx and Crake have been deity-ifed (not a word but you get my point) by Snowman and The Children of Crake. 
The symbolism is very interesting. 
The ending is ambiguous, on purpose, and gives very vague answers. It's of course frustrating to not have that satisfying ending that answers all your questions but that is the point of the book. The future remains uncertain.
Overall a good book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Excrement, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Alcohol, Gore, and Animal death