Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

40 reviews

aylaravenstar's review against another edition

Too dark and slow paced for me at this juncture.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, and Torture

bethanharcourt's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

3.25

I wasn't really expecting a lot of the things Jimmy got up to as a teenager. I felt quite confused about that section of the book, can see how it was a plot point, but still. The way the story was told narrative wise I enjoyed, and a glimpse into a possible future was an interesting perspective too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

greenglass67's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is easily one of my favorites. It’s such a unique story. Snowman’s journey and his reflections upon his life as Jimmy are deeply human. He exhibits so much passion for some things and so much apathy for others. The range of his experiences and emotions is wild, but it all works together cohesively. The world Margaret Atwood creates is a very chilling commentary on technology and science, and she pushes us to question how far advanced we can get without it being too far. The ending is remarkable. There are little hints and clues laced throughout the entire book that you don’t realize until the ending ties them all together, all the pieces fit into place, and it all suddenly makes sense. It answers all the questions you have, and leaves you asking several questions more. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

eimear_jane's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

backyardjake's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

Speculative fiction bundled with a very sad character study. Parental issues, relationship issues, confidence issues, and then existential issues. Jimmy has a lot of issues. Not for the feignt of heart, as I suppose most of Atwood's work is like. Inside is a very human and flawed tale, of the kind that revolted, resonated, sadend, and thrilled me as a reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Classism

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

bluemaiden's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Pedophilia

cait's review against another edition

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

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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

thedinosaurkid's review against another edition

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: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail