Madeline
I am a huge Chuck Palahniuk fan and I have recently been disappointed by the lack of quality writing since the early 2000s. I also loved Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Once I read it, a lot of Atwood’s books have been on my radar. But when I realized that in Oryx and Crake, Atwood has delivered the Palahniuk I have been craving, my heart nearly melted.
Premise of Oryx and Crake
Similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake starts out in a dystopian world that is not so far fetched. We soon come to learn that The Snowman is the only person, besides the children, who, to his knowledge is left in the world. As the story unwinds we learn who Crake is (hint: Crake is not a god) and we learn who Oryx is (hint: also not a god) who the children have come to believe are the people who have made this world.
The Snowman winds tales for the children and explain to them “how the world is” by using his imagination; however, these tales are only to amuse himself and hold no truth. Crake was his best friend before the collapse had happened and Oryx his lover who was stolen from home and sold into sex trafficking. This is they type of stuff that brings out the Palahniuk I have been craving. In the final chapters, we learn how The Snowman is the last man left, why he is surrounded by children, and what Oryx and Crake have to do with it all.
Final Thoughts
This was a twisted tale with the Palahniuk I have been craving. The story starts weird and then continues to get weirder and weirder. The Snowman is not the hero we all want him to be and the children are just accessories to the weird tale. This Margaret Atwood has an imagination for the books.
