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daphnesayshi's review against another edition
4.0
Am once again reminded of how brilliant a storyteller Atwood is. To start right in the middle of a post apocalyptic, gone to shit world, and then to drop little nuggets for us to piece together not just what happened, but also the relevance of the various characters at play, their roles, the effect their absence has on the present – their absent presences – all make for a wholly immersive experience that make it hard to put the book down. That is not to mention the amount of undoubtedly tirelessly researched science, untrue (perhaps) but no less unconvincing – as well as how incredibly believable a future like that could happen to us in reality. incredible!
The only reason why this didn't get a full 5 stars from me is Snowman, to be honest. what a poor, lost, misguided boy. he's not entirely sympathetic as a character is he? Even at the end, poor boy still didn't get it.
The only reason why this didn't get a full 5 stars from me is Snowman, to be honest. what a poor, lost, misguided boy. he's not entirely sympathetic as a character is he? Even at the end, poor boy still didn't get it.
emmaswiththefairies's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hadeanstars's review against another edition
2.0
Just no.
Let me get this out of the way, I think that Atwood is a good writer, but she is still overrated. This is the 3rd of her novels I've read after The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale. The first was the best of the three, and this is the worst. I found the writing style to be almost smug, the characters to be silly and two dimensional, and the themes to be bland, even if superficially quirky. This is the conventional and unimaginative person's idea of what is unconventional and imaginative. Badly written, badly conceived and just bad. But even so, readable if you are not very demanding and want something easy. It's like cyberpunk YA written by a boomer. 3/10.
Let me get this out of the way, I think that Atwood is a good writer, but she is still overrated. This is the 3rd of her novels I've read after The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale. The first was the best of the three, and this is the worst. I found the writing style to be almost smug, the characters to be silly and two dimensional, and the themes to be bland, even if superficially quirky. This is the conventional and unimaginative person's idea of what is unconventional and imaginative. Badly written, badly conceived and just bad. But even so, readable if you are not very demanding and want something easy. It's like cyberpunk YA written by a boomer. 3/10.
frankchester's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
machowska555's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
criddles_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
teeveekay's review against another edition
4.0
Great, page turning read! The story keeps you on your toes at the end of each chapter, making you want to read on to get the whole picture. Definitely recommend!
kayleepopovich's review against another edition
3.0
This novel was absolutely wild. I knew that I was getting a well-written and endlessly creative story by picking up another Atwood, but damn this one was crazy. Maybe it's just because I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of sci-fi, or maybe it's because I got freaked out because this vision of the future doesn't seem extremely far-fetched to me but I didn't love this one. I will also admit I didn't know this was the first novel in a trilogy, so maybe if I read the next two I'll have a different opinion. I certainly didn't see the novel the trajectory was taking until the last 100 pages. The whole time, I had assumed Crake was asexual, so I really didn't see the whole love-triangle-and-novel's-climax-and-downfall-because-of-it coming. I was slightly disappointed that the relationship between Oryx and Crake and Jimmy went that direction, because up until then, every theme in the novel had been tinged with ethical questions about gene editing and child abandonment and classicism, only to have the whole thing dismantled by jealous lovers. Though, I did the novel was set up well, in terms of the human-engineered pandemic that wipes out everyone. The unclarity Crake has for doing this is a bit annoying, but ultimately I think Crake just did it because he was a maniacal psychopath who had the brains. From the moment that the reader and Jimmy met Crake, we could tell her had no ability to empathize and no interest in learning how, and his lack of conscience was a hint to his future plans as well. It's not a huge surprise to me that he engineered the death of all humans, but I think the lack of reason other than the fact that he's a psychopath was a bit of a let down. Again, maybe I'd know more if I read the other 2 novels, but for now, I'm going to go a different direction in my reading.
A fascinating read for anyone looking for a different kind of sci-fi trilogy. Atwood's reading is always shocking and interesting in the best way, too, so you know you're in for a good story.
A fascinating read for anyone looking for a different kind of sci-fi trilogy. Atwood's reading is always shocking and interesting in the best way, too, so you know you're in for a good story.
jodyclair's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
1984 meets animal farm meets the stand. Shocking, bewildering, meaningful, thought provoking
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault