Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

21 reviews

cait's review

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Ableism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Classism, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Genocide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Body shaming, Confinement, Sexual content, Slavery, Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Pedophilia, Violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, and Vomit

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

thedinosaurkid's review

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

lauragarabedian's review

slow-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Murder, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Excrement, Rape, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Medical content, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, and Addiction

rzh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Drug abuse

cepbreed's review

dark mysterious slow-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

3.5

“After everything that's happened, how can the world still be so beautiful? Because it is.”

All in all this story is confusing, the plot interweaving past and present in undefined ways and beginning entirely with loose ends. By the end of the book things start to come together, the apocalyptic event, the history of Jimmy and Oryx, the longer history of Jimmy and Crake and how he became involved with the Crakers. It's satisfying to finally rid yourself of the fog, but still, much is unclear. The plot builds at a slow hum, so there aren't many moments shocking and quick enough to make me gasp besides

the way Jimmy ends Crake's life. Crake became something entirely different to what I imagined, Jimmy too, I never believed that could've been possible.

The last page, the last few lines even were so amazing, so artfully done. 

I had to go back to find those quotes to fully understand it, yet I'm still confused. I understand using a quote from his mother, but the quote from a work acquaintance? I get it's a display of Crake's manipulation (he always has a plan), but it would've been cooler to see a quote of his from when he was younger to show how much that connection means to him.

The commentary made here is worthwhile and definitely inline with Atwood's reputation, I wish I had introduced myself to her earlier. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Genocide, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Trafficking

Minor: Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity

ardinareads's review

3.75

gets points for its writing, pacing, some of its humor, the believable detachment of the main character, an engaging plot line. 

points subtracted bc I didn’t understand the significance of all the pornography and sex? the fact that it’s a science fiction dystopian novel about bioterrorism. idk maybe not my genre? ummm…. the ending? but I guess it’s a series and I didn’t realize that, so… my bad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Rape

sophieennis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, and Violence

parkerluck's review

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Death, Misogyny, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Rape, and Alcohol

keatynbergsten's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Trafficking