Oryx And Crake by Margaret Attwood (UK / US) is another book from my Apocalypse Watch reading list (which I am still, irregularly, inching through). I have previously only read The Handmaid’s Tale by Attwood, which I thought was excellent Science Fiction (despite (in)famously Attwood saying she doesn’t write SF). Oryx And Crake is most definitely Science Fiction as well, with one plot set in a post-apocalyptic future and the other thread telling the story of getting to that point.
The future plot follows the story of Snowman, the sole human living after some unspecified disaster. Although he’s not alone, he’s living with a collection of post-human creations and fighting off genetically engineered animal concoctions. It’s genetic engineering that is at the centre of the books science, from humble beginnings of tweaking a few animals, upwards to changing humans. It’s very pessimistic in its view, taking the opinion that once the genie is out of the bottle we are all doomed. The future plot thread mirrors this view in its bleakness.
Much more interesting is the back story which is revealed as the other plot thread, it follows Jimmy (aka Snowman) in his life from school to disaster, including his complicated relationship with his friend Crake. It’s nicely done, nothing is black or white, and Jimmy’s life feels messily real. Also at the core of the story is Jimmy’s obsession with Oryx, I guess it’s a love story, but it’s not quite as simple as that.
I thought the second half of the book was much better than the first, the story taking too long to get going. At the end I wanted more of the apocalypse, rather than just the before and after. It was also uncomfortable reading at times: bleak and nasty, not a book to read to lighten your mood, because there’s not much hope. Which is what I’ve come to believe makes a good apocalyptic book: there must be hope, enough to overcome the darkness.
In summary, an interesting book, nicely written, but dark and too long and slow.
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