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A review by mad_kling
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I didn’t dislike this book. I was intrigued from the start with Atwood’s world building as well as the flashes between past and present, and I think she executed that aspect very well. The middle was a little bit of a slog, but otherwise she builds tension excellently and by the last quarter of the book my heart was pounding again as everything began to reveal itself and subsequently collapse.
What I wasn’t crazy about is how Oryx (as well as every other woman besides Jimmy’s mother) was portrayed. I understand that we are receiving information through the POV of a guy with some severe mommy issues and a deeply damaged perception of women as talking fleshlights. I also have enough media literacy to get that we aren’t supposed to find any of these characters admirable, and Atwood is certainly not endorsing all thoughts or actions of these characters. But it’s insane to me how little we get to know about one of the book’s titular characters. Oryx is a sex doll and a puppet to the very end.
It’s very clear that Jimmy never actually loved her, or even saw her as a person—he just wanted someone to save, or save him. So it makes sense why we never got to see anything but the traumatic backstory that Jimmy wrung out of her. But I would have loved to see more of her inner world, what she actually felt about what was going on, her joy, her sadness, her rage. And for her to stop saying Jimmy’s name so fucking much.
It’s possible that I was just hoping in the end that this would be a different, kinder book than the one I got. Of course that’s a pipe dream. Atwood is an excellent writer, but from what I’ve read of her books, I don’t think she’s a benevolent one.
I’ll be trying to wrap my head around what I just read for the next couple days.
What I wasn’t crazy about is how Oryx (as well as every other woman besides Jimmy’s mother) was portrayed. I understand that we are receiving information through the POV of a guy with some severe mommy issues and a deeply damaged perception of women as talking fleshlights. I also have enough media literacy to get that we aren’t supposed to find any of these characters admirable, and Atwood is certainly not endorsing all thoughts or actions of these characters. But it’s insane to me how little we get to know about one of the book’s titular characters. Oryx is a sex doll and a puppet to the very end.
It’s very clear that Jimmy never actually loved her, or even saw her as a person—he just wanted someone to save, or save him. So it makes sense why we never got to see anything but the traumatic backstory that Jimmy wrung out of her. But I would have loved to see more of her inner world, what she actually felt about what was going on, her joy, her sadness, her rage. And for her to stop saying Jimmy’s name so fucking much.
It’s possible that I was just hoping in the end that this would be a different, kinder book than the one I got. Of course that’s a pipe dream. Atwood is an excellent writer, but from what I’ve read of her books, I don’t think she’s a benevolent one.
I’ll be trying to wrap my head around what I just read for the next couple days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Trafficking, and Pandemic/Epidemic