A review by kayleepopovich
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

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.