Oryx and Crake
3 journalers for this copy...
Enjoyed reading this one, couldn't stop until I was done. Can't wait for the bookclub discussions!
Thanks to bookcrosser McLandry, this (certain to be nominated for many prizes) book, is winging its way to me even as I type this! Will read it in the New Year.
Thank you McLandry and Happy Holidays!
Thank you McLandry and Happy Holidays!
As a rule I don't read science fiction because I don't enjoy it, but I couldn't resist reading this one because genetic engineering is a topic close to this life scientist's heart. :)
Will write a review when I have more time.
Will write a review when I have more time.
Oryx and Crake first got my attention when I learned that biotechnology and genetic engineering were dominant themes in this futuristic novel. This is the story of how runaway gene splicing technology causes society to collapse. Margaret Atwood's story begins after nearly all human beings have died in a man-made plague, and Jimmy's (the only survior of the plague) only company is a group of genetically engineered survivors called Crakers. We are given to suspect from the outset that Oryx and Crake(like Adam and Eve), designed these beings and wiped out the previous version of mankind. Anyway, Jimmy or Snowman has been chosen by Crake (they were best friends) to be the guardian of the Crakers.
Although I found all the main characters in this book (Jimmy, Oryx and Crake)cold, lacking empathy, devoid of emotion or character thus finding it hard to relate to, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole host of very clever genetically engineered creations in the book like pigoons, rakunk, wolvog, the Crakers), my favorite being the Crakers.
*****************SPOILERS AHEAD***********************
Crake used his prominent position at a biotech corporation to launch a project to create the hybrid Crakers. In creating them his goal was to create a peaceful society that will live harmoniously with nature. These genetically engineered creatures are impervious to the brutal, ultraviolet radiation of the sun and have no facial hair. They are a race untroubled by aggression, sexual urges (they mate only during limited breeding seasons) or the religious impulse. They are multicoloured (racism has also been bred out.) The Crakers eat grass, berries, and their own excrement, and contain natural defenses - such as predator-repelling piss and a self-healing purr - that make them perfectly adjusted to their habitat, so they would never have to create houses or tools or weapons, or, for that matter, clothing."
Anyway, to continue with the story, Jimmy, in his Snowman identity in this new world, reflects on his relationships with Crake, his benefactor, and Oryx, his lost love. He remembers how his boyhood friend, a peerless success at RejoovenEssence, the largest of corporate compounds, rescued him from obscurity to assist him with two of his most ambitious of projects: BlyssPlus and the Paradice Method. The former was Crake's miracle pill designed to protect humans from all sexually transmitted diseases, provide unlimited libido, prolong youth, and solve the population problem by secretly sterilizing everyone who swallowed it. The Paradice Method promised customers that RejoovenEssence would be able to manufacture the "totally chosen baby," a child that would incorporate any physical, mental, or spiritual characteristic that the consumer might desire. Jimmy ponders how BlyssPlus, the Paradice Method, and the worldwide plague are related, and whether or not the perfectly designed children of Crake can thrive in the world outside their compound.
In the end, Oryx and Crake reads more like a parable---the moral being that mankind should never mess with Nature or God, or watch it all go horribly wrong.
Although I found all the main characters in this book (Jimmy, Oryx and Crake)cold, lacking empathy, devoid of emotion or character thus finding it hard to relate to, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole host of very clever genetically engineered creations in the book like pigoons, rakunk, wolvog, the Crakers), my favorite being the Crakers.
*****************SPOILERS AHEAD***********************
Crake used his prominent position at a biotech corporation to launch a project to create the hybrid Crakers. In creating them his goal was to create a peaceful society that will live harmoniously with nature. These genetically engineered creatures are impervious to the brutal, ultraviolet radiation of the sun and have no facial hair. They are a race untroubled by aggression, sexual urges (they mate only during limited breeding seasons) or the religious impulse. They are multicoloured (racism has also been bred out.) The Crakers eat grass, berries, and their own excrement, and contain natural defenses - such as predator-repelling piss and a self-healing purr - that make them perfectly adjusted to their habitat, so they would never have to create houses or tools or weapons, or, for that matter, clothing."
Anyway, to continue with the story, Jimmy, in his Snowman identity in this new world, reflects on his relationships with Crake, his benefactor, and Oryx, his lost love. He remembers how his boyhood friend, a peerless success at RejoovenEssence, the largest of corporate compounds, rescued him from obscurity to assist him with two of his most ambitious of projects: BlyssPlus and the Paradice Method. The former was Crake's miracle pill designed to protect humans from all sexually transmitted diseases, provide unlimited libido, prolong youth, and solve the population problem by secretly sterilizing everyone who swallowed it. The Paradice Method promised customers that RejoovenEssence would be able to manufacture the "totally chosen baby," a child that would incorporate any physical, mental, or spiritual characteristic that the consumer might desire. Jimmy ponders how BlyssPlus, the Paradice Method, and the worldwide plague are related, and whether or not the perfectly designed children of Crake can thrive in the world outside their compound.
In the end, Oryx and Crake reads more like a parable---the moral being that mankind should never mess with Nature or God, or watch it all go horribly wrong.
Reserved for nubbyjen on the West Coast of Canada, mailed to her today, 14thApril.
Just got the book from Ontario. Will read soon...I am excited!
