A review by siobhanward
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 I keep picking up books by Margaret Atwood thinking they'll be great. Some of her works are fantastic and hold up well and others just aren't that. I think part of the problem is there's a certain style to her works and some aspects I love while others I'm just done with. This book just didn't work for me - while I will say some aspects were pretty eerie after an actual global pandemic, one clever portion of the book did not make up for the rest, which was just meh.

I found my biggest issue was how slowly things moved. There was so much background that it seemed to take ages to figure out what was actually happening in the book. There were also some really graphic descriptions of child abuse, so be warned about those. Atwood has a gift for writing female characters caught in miserable situations, and her strongest works are ones where they can find the power to change those situations, while her weakest books are the ones where they just fall down and can't be saved. 
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