Book Review: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

If you are going to continue, you must understand that science-fiction is pretty much the only thing that interests me regularly. I love reading about aliens, post-apocalyptic worlds, science gone awry, and newly discovered connections to ancient and alien wolds. But, the stories that resonate with me the most are the ones that details a future that is very realistic.

I first read Margaret Atwood in 8th grade (or maybe it was 7th). The Handmaids Tale would stick with me for years to come. The way she challenged the reader to think about gender, sex, and power in a patriarchal society secretly controlled by fertile women (who are unaware of their own power). This story led me to enroll in college courses such as “Gender, Race, and Representation.” I wrote critical essays dissecting movies, commercials, and music. And when I became a HS English teacher, I created a course that allowed my students to think critically about pop culture. Atwood’s words are powerful and the worlds she creates are not very far-fetched.

Oryx and Crake is the story of science, indulgence, and recreation. In a sense it is a post-apocalyptic creation myth with very real “could-happens” at it’s core. The USA is a corporate-police-state divided into sectors of money, knowledge, rebellion, and compliance. There is an ongoing battle between industry and environment and religion and science. It is, and I say this with conviction, our future.

I will not speak about the story any more as I don’t want to spoil it, but rather, I will focus on the writing. Margaret Atwood is not easy to stomach. Her writing is hefty and deep and she introduces philosophies that may make you want to scream. She offers no apologies through hand-holding and she gives her readers more credit than any modern day author I can think of. She assumes that you have a basic understanding of the world, religion, scientific advances, and anti-social behavior. Her writing is challenging and will leave you feeling uneasy and of kilter.

I began reading this novel with my husband, his two sisters, and his mom. His sisters and mom did not finish. They could not get past the made up species of animals and the world that she so perfectly creates in the first two chapters. However, both my husband and I devoured her words. We began to look a the world through the Oryx and Crake lens and we were excited to talk about the similarities between Atwood’s world and our own.

Read it! You won’t be disappointed.