_Oryx and Crake: A Novel_ by Margaret Atwood
I have a read a few of Margaret Atwood’s novels and really enjoyed them, but as they are more science fiction, I do not often think to read more of her novels. During one of our BBQ parties, we were talking about the future world and overpopulation, etc. (We might be a bit nerdy… ;)) This title came up and I was curious to give it a read.
The story goes back and forth from the current ‘post-apocalyptic’ world with Snowman and the Crakers to the time building up to the current when Snowman was Jimmy and growing up with his friend Crake. Woven between the two stories comes the character of Oryx – a girl/woman who captures the love of both young boys when they are at a very impressionable age (14). They are always in a future time, but both have dysfunctional families and struggle through their youth until they part ways when it comes time for university. Crake is extremely intelligent and works to create an ideal world. Jimmy is an average fellow who is not a ‘numbers’ person, but a ‘word’ person and so he follows the path with less hope. It is a nice dynamic to create and show the extremes that we may continue to see of our society.
Ultimately, Crake and Oryx have come together to help create a perfect kind of people to survive and reproduce in the world. However, along with this comes a plague that is meant to make people sterile through vitamin supplements, but is then set off to destroy the current world population. Before this, Crake has brought Jimmy into his world and made him the protector of the Crakers. Thus, the story goes.
It is an apt story with its pointings towards issues such as overpopulation and how to control it to avoid the world being destroyed, yet also considering what is going too far. This is the first of a trilogy, so I will read something else next, but imagine I shall go back to this series soon!
-T π
