Review of 'Oryx and Crake'
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
A terribly cynical look at a possible future where “compounds” containing genetic engineering companies unleash genetic terror on the world for profit and revenge. The final terror has caused mass extinction with only a few genetically engineered people and a man who knew the author of the world's distruction. Snowman tells the tale of how the world has disintegrated with flashbacks to the life he led as he befriends “Crake” a brilliant geneticist who dislikes Jimmy's (“Snowman” in the post-apocolyptic world) comparitively simple life and outlook of life. Oryx is the name of a woman who Jimmy develops an infatuation when he initially spots her on an Internet porn site and eventually enters his life as a lover. Dreadfully depressing and, one might say, very “tounge in cheek” pocking a very sharp stick at the extreme abuse of genetic manipulation and Arianism. Well written, as one would expect from Atwood, but not something to read if you are feeling depressed…Sharp and caustic, finding nothing good to say about genetic engineering.
Rating: “A bit better than average”
Genre: Science Fiction