rohshey
Written on Apr 1, 2017
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The first volume in the internationally acclaimed MaddAddam trilogy is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future—from the bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments
Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey—with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake—through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.
- ISBN10 0385721676
- ISBN13 9780385721677
- Publish Date 30 March 2004
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Random House USA Inc
- Imprint Vintage Books
- Edition Anchor Books ed
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 400
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780385721677
Reviews
Briana @ Pages Unbound
Written on Dec 2, 2012
brokentune
Written on Jul 19, 2012
This is a combined review of the trilogy. Well, not so much a review as just a few thoughts.
"But hatred and viciousness are addictive. You can get high on them. Once you've had a little, you start shaking if you don't get more."
When Oryx & Crake was first published, I could not put it down. It was my first Atwood, none of my friends knew about her (I was still at uni at the time) and people thought I was on the crazy train when it didn't win the Booker.
Strangely, my impressions of Oryx & Crake kept me from reading the other two books in the trilogy as soon as they were published, and I only managed to remedy this over the past couple of months.
I kinda wish I hadn't. Not that Year of the Flood and MaddAddam were bad books - the writing was exquisite - but they did not hold the same punch as O&C which is basically "Snowman, the Jimmy"s story.
Being Snowman, the story is slightly mad and told by a madman. I never really knew whether to believe him or not, and that made reading quite fantastic.
Year of the Flood is basically the companion piece told from the view of Toby, a tough but sane, survivor of the Flood. While Toby's story and the of her fellow survivors is interesting, it merely adds to the existing world that Atwood created in O&C.
MaddAddam stretched this even further. Unfortunately, by this time, I had learned about all I wanted to know about the Flood and the aftermath and the Crakers.
By the end, I was only wondering why we needed book 3 at all? I wish she had rolled books 2 and 3
mary
Written on Jul 3, 2012
The main narrative of the novel is Snowman's memories of his past; when he was just Jimmy. He remembers growing up in a world where true prosperity was enjoyed only by a select parasitical corporations who wanted to use all the wealth of the impoverished masses. We as the reader get the feeling that Jimmy was unsatisfied with his life, but things change for him when a new boy moves into the neighborhood, known as Crake. Crake is a genius even in a cop orate world of immaculate genes. Together him and Jimmy do a lot of exploring and engage in many mental games. Only many years later are they united along with Oryx when Crake decides to embark on a corporate project focused on changing humanity.
Therefore the main plot of the story is focused on the past; we are not told that much about post-apocalyptic earth. The reader does learn that the land is filled with genetic alterations that have gone wrong, and humans have essentially fallen off the evolutionary ladder.
Atwood does a great job of building her three main characters with Snowman's memories. Only Oryx character ends a little flat since she seems to serve as an impetus for Crake and Jimmy. However, I found the world of this novel so very rich, dark, and frightening. The conclusions she draws from the major theme of corporate corruption are very intriguing, as well as frightening.
The most enjoyable part of this novel is the writing style. Such a delicate prose and the pieces of the story are very well connected. There are never any slow parts to this novel, even the small parts are very riveting. The only problem I had with this novel was the ending. It is left too open for me and doesn't seem to answer some of the gripping questions posed earlier in the novel. But I did enjoy this read despite the poorly executed ending.