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A review by curlymango
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
dark
mysterious
reflective
4.0
Oryx and Crake is a miserable, disturbing, but also witty and darkly funny vision of the future where technological utilitarianism triumphs. A slow burner at first, the flashback storyline became more fleshed out and rewarding as I read on. I felt at the beginning that Snowman as a narrator might lack depth, but you get to see his struggles with existentialism, love, shame, etc. and his ruminations on what corrupts human society.
Atwood’s writing can be exaggerated and absurd:
“‘…you’d be surprised how many people would like a very beautiful, smart baby that eats nothing but grass. The vegans are highly interested in that little item.’”
But also tragically poetic:
“Everything in his life was temporary, ungrounded. Language itself had lost its solidity; it had become thin, slippery, a viscid film on which he was sliding around like an eyeball on a plate.”
A really morbid ode to the arts.
Atwood’s writing can be exaggerated and absurd:
“‘…you’d be surprised how many people would like a very beautiful, smart baby that eats nothing but grass. The vegans are highly interested in that little item.’”
But also tragically poetic:
“Everything in his life was temporary, ungrounded. Language itself had lost its solidity; it had become thin, slippery, a viscid film on which he was sliding around like an eyeball on a plate.”
A really morbid ode to the arts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence