“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood explores an all-too-familiar theme today. Techno Bro builds a fantastic, successful business and then explores his philosophy on what is wrong with the world. It doesn’t end well.
Set in a not-so-distant future, the story begins on a beach in a post-apocalyptic landscape where environmental catastrophe, genetic engineering, and bioterrorism have reshaped humanity. Snowman’s interactions with the genetically engineered humans known as Crakers are somewhat humorous, very intriguing, and a little sad.
The protagonist, Snowman (formerly known as Jimmy), is one of the last surviving humans. He mourns the loss of his best friend, Crake, and his lover, Oryx. As Snowman navigates this desolate world, he grapples with memories of their past and the choices that led to humanity’s downfall.
His only conversations are with the Crakers. They have been bioengineered to live in the next chapter of the earth, and it’s debatable if we should still call them human. They live a simple and happy life, oblivious to the dangers Snowman faces every day to survive.
Moving from before the catastrophe as Jimmy and afterward as Snowman, the majority of the book is focused on the protagonist’s internal thoughts as he reflects on memories of a world filled with sexual abuse, abandonment, and poor decisions. I was constantly intrigued by the mystery of who exactly Oryx, Crake, Jimmy, and the Snowman were and their relationship with each other. When I finally learned the truth, I wondered if Crake’s decisions, made under those depraved circumstances, were perhaps humanity’s best course of action.