Review: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I’ve wanted to read some more Atwood for a while, so when I came across this one at the library I decided to pick it up. 

Oryx and Crake is about Snowman, formerly known as Jimmy. He lives in the woods in a post apocalyptic setting, taking care of the children of Crake. As the history slowly unfolds we learn how he came to be in this position. 

When Jimmy was a child he lived in a compound run by a company producing meat. In this society man has started to genetically splice animals in order to achieve more “desirable” traits, like more meat or less aggressiveness. These experiments sometimes get out of hand and wreak havoc on the local eco system. Jimmy’s best friend, known as Crake, is a genius within the genetic splicing community and  his delusions of grandeur lead him to invent some less than great things. 

I thought the concept of the novel was interesting. What happens when man starts to mess with nature? Who has there right to decide who and what lives and dies? How does a lone survivor stay sane in an abandoned world? And is there any point in it? What should you sacrifice for other peoples’ visions? 

As for the plot I thought it was a bit drawn out. It takes a long while before we figure out what is going on and we get a lot of backstory beforehand. But as mentioned above it does have a number of interesting point. And instead of telling you what you should think it leaves the deciding of what’s right up to you. 

I gave this book 3 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.