Reviews

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

gabriela_dreams's review against another edition

1.0

Even if I loved the Blind Assasin, I hated this book, I couldn't finish it. I only read 200 pages, which seemed like a real torture for me. I didn't like the fact that it is very slow paced and you feel that nothing is going to happen. The main idea of the novel was good, but I didn't like the way Atwood presented it, the whole package was wrongly wrapped. I felt that I was eating a cake that looks great when you look at it, but bad when you taste it, because the ingredients weren't mixed correctly.

hannet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I'm pretty sure I read an excerpt from this in English class years ago. I remember liking it, the weird name, and mice in a spaceship. Which do not exist in this book. So, false memory, or what? Been meaning to read Margaret Atwood for a while, and gee, she's got a lot of books, and she's only 84!? This book was written in 2003, and it kinda checks out still! People e-mail a bunch, but otherwise the 20 years haven't really taken away from the book. Only it was a bit meander-y, not a huge plot, or resolve. More like a mystery, finding out what Snowman's deal is. The whole apocalypse vibe was putting me on edge, while I also halfway expected a reveal toward the end, of Jimmy actually living in a functioning society. Guess not. Just Googled MaddAddam, because it appeared in the plot, and was also shown as another work of Atwood's, and I guess this book is the first of a trilogy, welp. To read or read the Wikipedia summary? I'm somewhat intrigued! Also while reading this I saw a news item on the first deaf child whose hearing was fixed through a genetic... vaccine...? So Crakers might not be too far off. Then again, growing new teeths is still very early days (another news article from today). Since people eating today's food in dystopian or vaguely futuristic novels always bugs me, I appreciated Atwood going into detail into what's still growing and what isn't. Though apparently the meat substitutes suck and the tofu is bland, which I don't buy. Or maybe Crake should've put his genius to better plant-based foods instead of new humans...

lauren_may's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

marzipan951's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

kt2192's review against another edition

4.0

It is quite slow paced in the first half and speeds considerably after - still a slow moving story (not necessarily a bad thing). The connection with the characters also only happened on the later stages. Struggled with the beginning of the book but it go considerably more enjoyable and eventually got to the point that you get so involved you just don't want to put the book down. Oddly enough it was the day after finishing the book that improved my opinion significantly - I did read the second half in one sitting, so that's probably why. Definitely changed my mind about the book which ended up capturing my attention and will certainly read the rest of the trilogy.

trisarahjtops's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

sylvieb's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

selenajean's review against another edition

4.0

One of the better dystopian/apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books I've read. Yes, it is all 3. The book starts out with a character who is the last human on earth but was at the center of how things ended. The story of the dystopian world he lived in and how the end came about in is told in flashbacks. Ending is a cliff hanger so thankfully I read this after the trilogy was complete!

luci_08's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.5

llamalluv's review against another edition

3.0

Popsugar 2022: 31) a book featuring a manmade disaster