Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

37 reviews

ellieoopsie's review

dark reflective medium-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

4.0

Weird book to say you enjoyed given the subject matter. Atwood manages to talk about some of the worst human impluses with a dry humor which stops the on-the-nose commentry from feeling too preachy. The mixture of past and present in the chapters keeps you engaged, wanting to pull the treads and find out what happens. The creation of world is so strong and intriguing, familiar and futuristic. This book made me think of Cat's Cradle and Our Missing Hearts with a tone more aligned with the former. Give the content warnings a squiz before you read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Trafficking

Moderate: Child abuse and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal cruelty

kyrabou's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Pandemic/Epidemic

violator's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mybestfriendsarefictional's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

parkbenj's review

adventurous challenging dark sad medium-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

Like many others the only other Margaret Atwood book I have read is Handmaid’s Tale. Unsurprisingly Oryx and Crake is also deeply disturbing, with multiple chapters containing unnecessarily graphic descriptions of the physical and sexual abuse of children. I say unnecessary because I skipped over these scenes and did not feel like I’d missed anything important. Especially as the abused child in question (Oryx) has zero character development and seems to only serve as a plot device to move Jimmy/Snowman’s story forward.
That being said Margaret really is a beautiful writer and as she said of Handmaid’s Tale “nothing went into it that had not happened in real life somewhere at some time.”
I don’t agree with the reviews that say this book is slow and boring, her descriptions and storytelling are truly captivating.
I think this book is worth a read as long as you go in prepared to read many deeply disturbing scenes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

khurelchuluun's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I honestly enjoyed it a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

melmellon's review

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and War

allym's review

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

pizzaguise's review

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

toniboni's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation