Cussedness

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Atwood claims Oryx and Crake isn’t Sci-Fi, which is a pretty daft thing to say about a story describing a genetically modified apocalypse wrought by a mad scientist. Her denial left some entertainingly riled, but it probably helped her sell the book to her usual readers so I doubt she regrets it. And credit to her for annoying someone who uses the phrase “sclerotic exiguity” without blushing*.

I grew up on writers such as John Wyndham and Aldous Huxley; I love the “Last Man On Earth” and “End of the World” tropes. I had no trouble enjoying this story whilst immersed in it, but on reflection, and disappointingly, it is not so well realised, or as horrifying, as the only other book of Atwood’s that I’ve read, The Handmaid’s Tale. The three main characters appear incidental to the real star of the story, the world they inhabit, which is vivid and convincing in it’s ravaged, post-Crake incarnation, but flawed in the pre-apocalyptic passages. Some of the neologisms feel forced, the culture manifested on “the net” is contrived and under-researched in places, and the science elements occasionally blink and flicker like bad CGI, reminding the reader that the possible and the plausible aren’t the same thing.

I didn’t really notice much of this whilst reading, though, mostly because Atwood can tell a story rather well, and is never boring. I’ll definitely track down some more of her stuff in the future.

*Thanks Jim!

1 comment • 2007-02-11 17:03 • Categories: Books, Reviews • Tags: Margarte Atwood, Novels, Sci Fi