I read Oryx and Crake years ago, and was pulled into Atwood's world. I decided to re-read it after learning she's written a second novel that occurs parallel to this one.
It was a much harder read this time around.
But I was still in Atwood's world.
When the novel opens, we see Snowman sleeping in a tree, wearing an old bed-sheet, mourning the loss of his beloved Oryx and his best friend Crake. Snowman is slowly starving to death. He is alone in the world. Except for the green-eyed Children of Crake whom he has been left responsible for. The children of Crake are a new breed of humans, passive, docile, who are physically flawless, void of envy and jealousy. They do not understand violence or sexual drive, unable to be artisitc or comprehend technology.
The novel jumps from present day Snowman, who recollects events from the past where we gradually learn the sequence of events leading to the fall of humanity as he knew it and his contribution to it.
Atwood also leaves you with unanswered questions. Will humanity survive? Will the Crakers overtake? Are the Crakers really what Crake intended them to be; the perfect beings? Will Snowman find anyone else that survived? Or is he truly the last man alive?
Atwood has a way with dystopia. She is unique and unlike other dystopia series. Maybe it's because she, herself calls it speculative fiction. Hmmmm....
1 comment:
She is such an original, isn't she?
=)
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