Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Oryx and Crake is the 1st book of the MaddAddam Trilogy, which the group is reading in the lead up to Goodreads Choice Award Winner Science Fiction Category (MaddAddam)

Book Summary:
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.

I just got this from my library today and am excited to start reading it!

I read this book last year.... Well more like I DNF'd it at 50%. I know I'm in the minority of people that think this book is terrible.
I felt like Atwood's writing was comparable to the writing of a disturbed and perverse teenage boy.
I also felt like nothing happened. I constantly reread sections because I zoned out or (not kidding) fell asleep.

I have added that one to be TBR list for this month.
Not the usual genre I go for, so I am soooooo going to read it :)

I have checked out Oryx and Crake in audiobook via my library's Overdrive site. Looking forward to this. I think Margaret Atwood is one of the best authors EVER!!

Funnily enough, I read the sequel when it came out and loved it (of course). Then I found out it was a part of a series.

Virginie wrote: "I have added that one to be TBR list for this month.
Not the usual genre I go for, so I am soooooo going to read it :)"

Props for stretching your boundaries!

That's what's fun about this group. I am reading books I'd NEVER (probably) have picked up.

☆αlly☆ (litєrαry єscαpist) wrote: "I read this book last year.... Well more like I DNF'd it at 50%. I know I'm in the minority of people that think this book is terrible.
I felt like Atwood's writing was comparable to the writing of..."

I have to say I'm a little worried that this might happen to me but I'm going to give it a go anyway :)

Never know until you try!

☆αlly☆ (litєrαry єscαpist) wrote: "Never know until you try!"

I abandoned this book last year as well, I will try to start from the point I left and hope this time will be able to finished, but I was really disappointed with the story. Maybe this time it will be better...

Well I gotta get through , which I just started, but hopefully will get to by the end of the month. Also still gotta get to - I am clearly behind.

Surprised that some people didn't like Oryx and Crake. I thought it was amazing, and I still can't stop thinking about this storyline. This book is probably my favorite out of the series, although some of my favorite characters are introduced in book 2.

Just started this and I definitely like it so far. I can see there is a lot of spoiler potential as it is hard to know exactly what is going on at the beginning, and things are being slowly revealed. Not sure about the teenaged-boy-writer critique; I see perhaps a mild hetero-sex-obsession in train of thought, but it seems justified from what I can understand of the situation so far (10%) (view spoiler)[Narrator seems like an old man with no humans like him anywhere around, no sex in god knows how long... (hide spoiler)].

This is my first book by Margaret Atwood - anybody else? (I see Sarah is reading The Handmaid's Tale). From what I've heard about her feminist viewpoint, I'm curious if that will show up here. (Seems odd that she would sound like a teenage boy, given her reputation...)

Once I start it Michael, it will also be my first Atwood book.

I tried it as an audiobook a few months ago, and abandoned it. Maybe it was the format? I liked The Handmaid's Tale, but this one did not keep me interested.

started today.... my first Atwood as well...

so far, it's okay... never read anything like this before.... not my usual genre... let's see how it goes...

*keeping my fingers crossed*

So, I have decided to come back to the story, and after I got through the "teenagers" part, I really like it. It is much more to-the-point (for me mainly with gripping and thought-provoking descriptions of aftermath - of what, I presume we will find out some time later into the story). I'm already curious about the next installment in the series! Now I'm in 60% of the book.

Okay, now I get the teenaged boy references - (view spoiler)[a lot of this is actually from the perspective of Snowman/Jimmy as a teenaged boy (hide spoiler)] - wow, a lot of sex/breast/etc obsessions. On the one hand, it's a bit tiring, on the other hand, it's pretty amazing how accurately I think Atwood is portraying these ruminations. (I confess this sounds a lot like my brain when I was 13.) Whether this commentary makes for a worthwhile reading experience, I am still considering. The emotional themes, at least, have been very affecting I think. (24%) (view spoiler)[Examples: his confusion about his dysfunctional father's male bonding, his love/hate/fear relationship with his dysfunctional mother, his choosing of a rakunk as his best friend, his negotiations of grief and hope. (hide spoiler)]

Michael wrote: "Okay, now I get the teenaged boy references - [spoilers removed] - wow, a lot of sex/breast/etc obsessions. On the one hand, it's a bit tiring, on the other hand, it's pretty amazing how accuratel..." I think Atwood does a great job writing from a teenaged boy perspective - what's perverse about it? Because he's interested in sex? It all adds to the story (and for lols). Agreed, Michael - it seems pretty accurate to me, male or female!

☆αlly☆ (litєrαry єscαpist) wrote the "perverse" comment, so they will have to answer for themselves.

But now that I consider it, I wasn't thinking of it as perverse, exactly, just occasionally distracting and objectifying. (Distracting, because it fills so much of his thoughts, objectifying because, literally, all I know about his third grade teacher is that she had large breasts). But then at 30%, it gets a little weird ((view spoiler)[flipping back and forth between video feeds of live executions and porn feels a little perverse to me, although I get that comparing the two programs is quite a social commentary; and the porn with 8 year old girls, wow, really? I'm glad she (Atwood) didn't really describe much (yet) because that's not really what I want to be reading. (hide spoiler)]

Sarah wrote: "Well I gotta get through , which I just started, but hopefully will get to by the end of the month. Also still gotta get to [bo..."

[book:The Handmaid's Tale|38447] is one of the greatest books ever written. (Unless, of course, you're an evangelical, anti-woman, or a Republican -- or all three!)

Michael wrote: "Just started this and I definitely like it so far. I can see there is a lot of spoiler potential as it is hard to know exactly what is going on at the beginning, and things are being slowly reveal..."

I'm just starting Oryx and Crake, but for some reason I read The Year of the Flood first. These books do have prominent women. But I think they're ecological statements are much more prominent.

O/T: Why do feminists have such a bad rep? I don't think of Handmaid's Tale so much a feminist as anti-religious fundamentalists.

Just finished this one and I absolutely love it. Such a well-thought out take on a dystopian world followed by the ultimate apocalypse. Usually, too much pseudo-science bothers me as it's mostly silly and ludicrous, but this one managed to stay just close enough to what might be possible without getting lost in details that make it simple impossible. I enjoyed the male perspective and even though parts were hard to read, I think the media consumption is not so far of from what today's teenagers live through .. and in the future .. who knows? The way our lives already changed with y*t*be and all that.
Fascinating book in so many ways!!

I will be starting this book in a couple days. I am finishing up a few other books that I have started. Looking forward to the discussion.

Janina wrote: "Just finished this one and I absolutely love it. Such a well-thought out take on a dystopian world followed by the ultimate apocalypse. Usually, too much pseudo-science bothers me as it's mostly si..."

That's why Margaret Atwood rejects the science fiction label and prefers it to be called "speculative fiction". It makes it a lot more frightening when you can actually see things like this happening. Another book where the science looks like it can actually happen is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

I am still waiting for my library hold to come in. Sigh.

I'm 17% in, still learning about Jimmy and his parents. I'm amused by the Pigoons and Rakunks

RitaSkeeter wrote: "I'm 40% in now and revising my former opinion because I'm finding it interesting. One of my bugbears with some of the the YA dystopian I've read is that (as much as I enjoy them!) the world build..."

Totally agree on your YA dystopia comments. I think part of the problem is the world-building gets ignored or simply watered down to make way for the romantic interest. In reality these relationships would be a lot more desperate or riddled with loss (as in Oryx and Crake) and would complement the world-building, not preempt it.

Yes, Atwood is not only holding a mirror up to society's current state, but showing a very realistic endpoint/futurepoint. The wolvogs are a great example, (view spoiler)[how the companies originally created these glowing rabbits, but they got out of control, so they created the wolvogs, which started eating human babies out of their cribs. The cumulative effect is a cautionary tale of how we shouldn't be playing with things we don't understand. (hide spoiler)]

To Oryx's childhood/MC, (view spoiler)[one other issue I thought was subtly raised is that Jimmy is part of the audience creating a market for the sex trafficking of children. His clicks and views create the internet traffic that the advertisers use to fund it all. 40% through the book he seems to have no acknowledgement of this, and just wants to kill the people driving her and filming her and participating in the scenes. (hide spoiler)]

✿ ♥ Heather ♥ ✿ wrote: "I'm 17% in, still learning about Jimmy and his parents. I'm amused by the Pigoons and Rakunks"

Yes, there is a disturbing contrast of humor and horror in this book. The humor helps me get through it, but it also has me caught off guard when bad things happen.

OK - I just noticed this one was up. Good thing too, because I have been meaning to re-read this book. I would like to do the other two books, but I have an obsessive thing about doing it right.

Ordering it - NOW! At this psychological moment, as my father used to say.

There - done!

I've been meaning to join one of these book clubs for ages, so thought I'd get this one out at my local library! A few days behind everyone else but I'm a fast reader :) So starting today, and will hopefully be done by the time the discussion gets away!
I read 'The Handmaid's Tale' years ago at school and didn't like it, so will be interested to see how I go with this one; reading for pleasure instead of for an assignment!

I've just finished chapter 4. So far I'm not too gripped by the story, but I'll keep on reading for now. I guess I'm used to dystopia with a little more action.

Just started and I am already enthralled. It is only my second Atwood, but I think I really am into her writing. I have several of her books on my bookshelf.

This sounds like a good one. I might pick it up on Monday.

Nah, this wasn't my favorite. I guess I have read too many dystopia lately that this didn't make difference, even it might be better than some. And some reason I keep thinking that I have read this before, even I'm pretty sure I'm not. Well, I think I check next part of serie though.

Michael wrote: "RitaSkeeter wrote: "I'm 40% in now and revising my former opinion because I'm finding it interesting. One of my bugbears with some of the the YA dystopian I've read is that (as much as I enjoy th..."

I'm about half-way in. It's a grueling read. Glad Atwood is not having Oryx give out details on her experience with men, at least not so far.

Interesting how Jimmy/Snowman is creating a mythology for Crake, who would not have wanted that done. But that's part of the story-telling process.

53%




Oh my goodness !!!! The poor "chicken".

I've just got to 94% and will probably finish this tonight. Been pleasantly surprised by this; had pretty much written Atwood off after 'The Handmaid's Tale', but I've found this really difficult to put down! Definitely will be reading the follow-up ^^

✿ ♥ Heather ♥ ✿ wrote: "53%




Oh my goodness !!!! The poor "chicken"."

No kidding. I'm at the point where (view spoiler)[ Snowman has been "treed" by the pigoons in the former guard's tower (hide spoiler)]

My library hold FINALLY came in along with the second book. I blew through both of them pretty quickly on audio book.

This was my first book by Atwood and I think she told a very solid dystopian story. It kind of makes the Hunger Games look light hearted and optimistic (this is not a critique on either series, as I have enjoyed both thus far).

Michael, I agree with everything that you have said. I think that one of the wonderful things is how believable Atwood's society is right before the waterless flood (I know that is a term from the second book, but I don't know how else to say it quickly).

I found myself questioning Atwood's social commentary throughout the book. (view spoiler)[Is she trying to depict biological and genetic engineering as evil, or a by-product of carelessness and greed? Do I agree with her? Finally, I decided to just accept that it was a story and go with it. (hide spoiler)]

One thing that did strike a nerve for me in the book (view spoiler)[is the implication that if the general public is not diligent, then very bad things can happen under the guise of wellness and improvement. Specifically, I am referring to the pharmaceutical companies developing cures AND diseases to continue their pursuit of profit. (hide spoiler)]

I think her commentary isn't (view spoiler)[mainly about genetic engineering being bad, but anti-corporatism. I think you have to realize her stories are a way to express her views. I've never considered them JUST stories any more than The Hunger Games is. Suzanne Collins has said she was trying to send a message about the celebrity culture. On your second point, a new exceptional treatment for Hep C costs $1,000 per dose and no matter how people complain the drug companies will do nothing. (hide spoiler)]

I lack the anti-corporate viewpoint, hence my decision to just accept the story at face value.

??? I don't understand. Are you saying you don't see the anti-corporate viewpoint?

I understand that is the viewpoint that she is presenting.

What I am saying is that for my own enjoyment, I decided to take it as just a story rather than a political statement.

I enjoy it as both. But perhaps, it's because I view her books as cautionary tales. If we're not very careful this can happen to us... I think that's why she doesn't like to be pegged as science fiction, she prefers the term speculative fiction.

Couldn't you say that for a lot of books, especially science fiction / dystopia etc, that the author is giving you their world views and therefore their political standpoint?

Lynn wrote: "Couldn't you say that for a lot of books, especially science fiction / dystopia etc, that the author is giving you their world views and therefore their political standpoint?"

I believe one's personal politics and world-building go together.

Politics has somehow acquired negative connotations, though. Political discussion seems to have become limited to left/right controversies and conflicts, or the corruption of individual politicians.

One's relations to a group/society and views on how society could or should work is for me the basis of politics. And those are topics that writers of science fiction / dystopia have traditionally explored.

For me, I felt it came on a little strong. Maybe I am sensitive to some local conversations of late and it struck a chord. That's why I felt better about letting a story just be a story.

I'm usually rather sensitive to what I perceive as excessive criticism of genetic engineering or big pharma (I'm a biotech professional myself). Not to say that there is no basis for criticism, but I'm tired of all too black (vs white = naturalistic) viewpoints.
Which is why I tend to not enjoy biotech thrillers and such things .. usually they are scientifically unsound and just overly critical.

This one though felt more philosophical in its approach. It painted a world that could come to be based on some of the things we are pondering .. yet it won't. To me, it felt more like an analysis of human nature and different characters .. the extremes to which people go and the widespread placidity that can also be troublesome.

Anyways, I very much enjoyed the story without feeling like it was anti anything that exists .. more a fantasy of what could be.

Janina wrote: "Anyways, I very much enjoyed the story without feeling like it was anti anything that exists .. more a fantasy of what could be."

And yet it definitely straddles the line. Corporations are already doing all kinds of genetic modifications to products, just on a smaller, less vivid scale than the chicken nibbits depicted here. It's not the same as creating diseases (I hope) but we haven't studied these new products long enough to know what kinds of things they could cause. And as for diseases, it seems well known that the military keeps some nasty viruses that could kill us all if unleashed.

Without accountability, most likely from the public, this kind of corporate (and government?) behavior has rare exceptions; it seems inevitable when money and power accumulate without corresponding checks and balances. For example, the causal link between smoking and cancer was known for at least 50 years (Richard Doll, 1952), with 100 million deaths in the 20th century (Wiki link, before any meaningful bans were put in place, largely due to the information suppression, media misinformation, and legal challenges propagated by the big tobacco corporations. And although I never heard of any coalitions between big tobacco and cancer treatment pharmaceuticals, who is to say what other types of coalitions might develop. 2008 proved to us that financial leaders are not above working together to screw over the general public, as you might remember.

Anyway, that's all depressing. Which is why a lot of us would rather just enjoy the book. I agree that sci-fi/speculative fiction has always raised these types of issues, and how seriously we take them is up to us. Even if we just enjoy the book, Ms. Atwood has planted some seeds, and if we ever see an advertisement for chicken nibbits at some future point, we will all think, "hmm, should I be worried about this?" I think that is a good thing.