by Nancy
The starting place for this story is a point some way into the future, where a character called Snowman is contemplating the devastated landscape around him and his own situation as probably the last human left on earth. Woven through Snowman's struggles to survive among genetic mutations and in the face of gradual starvation is the tale of his past as a naive young man called Jimmy. Jimmy watches as the world hurtles towards a catastrophe that is masterminded by his friend, an over-ambitious scientist called Crake.
I’m not sure if my choice this month is the very worst timing or the very best considering our lives at the moment. I’m hoping the brilliance of Margaret Atwood will help us through
Oryx and Crake includes many details that seem futuristic, but are in fact already apparent in our world. Can we draw parallels between the items in the world of the novel and those in our own?
One aspect of the novel's society is the virtual elimination of the middle class. Economic and intellectual disparities, as well as the disappearance of safe public space, allow for few alternatives: People live either in the tightly controlled Compounds of the elites, or in the more open but seedier and more dangerous Pleeblands, do you feel this becoming apparent in our world right now?
I truly hope all is OK with you both right now, thinking of you and your families.
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI hope all is going OK for you and the family and you are all adjusting to this new normal we seem to be living in. We are OK here, still can’t visit the children across the border but they are well and getting on with life.
How do you feel about our little book club?
Do you want to keep going?
I feel a little lost without Sue’s wise words, but would like to continue, let me know how you feel.
I have to say I really enjoyed Oryx and Crake and would like to read the rest of the trilogy. It is the first Margaret Atwood novel I have read and I am in awe of her imagination.
Even though I found the content unsettling and perhaps too close to current world events I found the story flowed along and it was easy reading.
If I could voice one criticism, I feel there was a lack of character development. I never really felt I understood or got to know Oryx or Crake. Crake just felt like a super villain to me and I’d have liked to understand what I’m sure is a very complex personality. Oryx, for all she suffered seemed very much like the Crakers. I just don’t think someone who has been through so much could be that naive. I felt there was much to develop in her character as well.
I wonder what Sue would have made of this novel?
I know she wasn’t a fan of fantasy and she would have definitely read the end first to see what happened to make the scenario Snowman was faced with. I’m sad we won’t hear from our dear friend again.
This novel was written in 2003 and I know the scientists were busy splicing and dicing genes back then. I wonder if Ms Atwood knew when she spun such fantastical images how close to the truth she would be nearly 20 years later. So much genetic modification that has been done in the plant world is in use in broad acre agriculture today and I shudder to think how close to the mark she is with animal genetic modification.
Her comment on the shift in societal classes is interesting. I do feel the middle class is shrinking in the western world and it has always been close to non existent in the developing world. I think an example of this was when Katrina hit New Orleans and the elites either jetted off in their private planes or stayed locked tight in their militia patrolled compounds with access to health care and food while the poor were left abandoned. We are seeing this divide when catastrophes strike I wonder hoe long until this becomes a new normal. It will be interesting to see the aftermath of covid19 and what sort of a world we are left with.
Wow sorry about the heavy vibes but there were some serious themes running through the novel and I guess it got me thinking.
Katie, I have contacted Jay and sent condolences from us all. I’ll do next months post, it was one of Sue’s picks. She was worried about stealing questions from book browser in her last post, I always do that haha.
Love to you and the family, stay as safe as you can.
Nancy
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteWe are doing well over here. I am finding this so hard to write. I can’t believe we won’t get to hear Sue’s thoughts on Oryx and Crake. I have very much loved our book club over the years and I believe Sue would be very disappointment if we stopped because of her absence. But I too feel a little lost without her. How do we continue without her? I am open to continuing as we have been. I enjoy hearing your thoughts and opinions on our books as well as the on goings of your family.
Oryx and Crake brought me a great deal of anxiety while I read it. It was just so close to what is happening now and within possibility of what could happen in the future. The style of germ warfare that Crake brought upon the planet is completely feasible and most disconcerting. That being said, I was also completely drawn in. While at times distressing, I also desperately wanted to know how the world got to its state at the beginning of the novel. I couldn’t put it down. I am curious as to what happens to Jimmy/Snowman and what becomes of the Crackers but I am also hesitant to the terrors that Ms. Atwood is capable of showing us. I am open to completing this trilogy.
I feel a complete lack of closure regarding Crake’s murder of Oryx and his suicide. While Jimmy may have fired the gun, Crake obviously planned to die. To me, Crake’s mission was to destroy the disparity in society. He viewed his current world structure and saw all of its flaws. So many species and people killed out of mankind’s immense greed. He solution was to restart the whole system much like a computer. It seemed that Crake wanted to end all of the original humanity and start the planet over with the Crakers. Then his choice to have Jimmy save the Crakers is perplexing to me. Crake could have made himself immune to the pandemic and freed the Crakers as Snowman had. Ultimately Crake could have committed suicide after he got the Crackers all set up with their community to restart the earth.
I agree that Sue would have read the ending first. And it is astounding how close to reality Ms. Atwood’s novel is. I think Sue would also have remarked on that. I look forward to the last few books that Sue intended to share with us. It will be incredibly bittersweet reading her last choices. Thank you so much for passing along our sympathy to Jay and for completing her introduction. I have ordered my copy of The Children Act this morning. Hopefully it will be here soon.
We are doing our best to stay safe here and I hope you are able to do the same. Talk to you soon.
Much Love,
Katie
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your confusion over Crakes murder of Oryx. I began thinking about it and perhaps the clues lie in the statement he made to Jimmy, something like “would you kill the one you love to save them”. Crake seemed to lack empathy but perhaps in his way he really did love Oryx, and also knew the disaster to come and knew his own emotional limitations and thought Jimmy would be a much better person to care for the Crakers.
What do you think?
I would love to continue on with our little club and perhaps in time we can invite some new members, maybe we should see how we go. I enjoy talking with you and discussing these novels I can’t believe nine years has passed since we began.
The Children’s Act post is coming soon I promise.
Much love
Nancy
p.s. If we add the rest of the Trilogy do you think we should slot them in soon or add them in last?
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI think that is a strong idea. Crake did not seem to be very emotionally attached to people. When his mother died, I do not recall him being very distressed. In addition, Crake probably had a superiority complex. While the Crackers were probably his most astounding creation and he was very proud of it, I can't imagine he would have enjoyed conversing with them. They were, by fault of their creation, less intelligent than Crake. He may not have had the patience or willingness to deal with such inferiors until his natural demise.
My suggestion is that we sprinkle them in between the novels we already have on the list. I fear there maybe intense feelings of hopelessness for our new Atwood characters. It might be best to get little breaks between such emotions while not forgetting any information from the last novel.
Franklin and I were just talking about the idea of adding new members to add different perspectives to our conversations. I am open to seeing how we do as just a duo or asking people to join us. I am not sure how you would like to go about recruiting people. No worries on The Children's Act. My copy still hasn't arrived. Benjamin came over while I was typing and I told him that we've read over 100 books together. His little mind was completely blown away by that. I look forward to many more books with you in Sue's honor <3
-Katie