Engrossing, disturbing, amusing, entertaining

What a story this is. It is quite hard to review without giving away the plot too much but I listened to this in 2 days and would happily go back to the start right now. The Narration is first class, along with the plot and the characters. The story leaves you thinking about it when you are not listening, wondering "could that really happen?" to which the answer is most often yes it could. Highly, recommend this. I will remember this one for a long time to come and probably shudder as parts of it become true in the future.

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58 people found this helpful

Oryx and Crake (Unabridged)

This is really worth listening to. Several important contemporary issues are explored in science fiction form, and the narrator delivers the story very well indeed.

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15 people found this helpful

Interesting but not for me

It's easy to see why some who read this will become enamoured by it and hopefully those who love it will equally be able to see why others won't like it. Aside from the desire to shock throughout - as far as I could tell there's never really any explanation as to how society becomes so depraved - the book is told in such a strange manner, as though the narrator is holding the reader at arm's length throughout, especially with the events from the past. Presumably this was intentional, showcasing Snowman's haze in regards to his memory, but it only served to turn me off yet further, especially when I didn't particularly care for any of the three main characters. Even so, the idea of all this experimentation with animals was certainly fascinating and I don't regret reading it. Alas, the book just didn't quite work for me in the way I'd hope. That being said, I might read the sequel in future as many appear to prefer it.

The narration is pretty good for the most part; any complaints I might have would only be down to the way the book presents itself.

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A must listen

Margaret Atwood’s novels are utterly terrifying, they’re so close to home that I’m not sure they aren’t actually already happening and the matter of fact writing is frankly downright scary. Oryx and Crake is yet another enormously credible short step into the future where mankind has run itself into the ground and there’s only one homo sapien sapien left. Jimmy (or snowman as he calls himself). Is that last man standing and we hear his story as it is now and in flashback to his former life.

I didn’t like John Chancer’s narration to start with, I don’t think I liked his accent to be fair, but it did grow on me and in the end I did decide it worked well for the novel. It looks like the second part of the trilogy has a different voice which I am not overwhelmed about, hopefully they do as good a job on it as Mr Chancer has done on this one!

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intriguing

Any additional comments?

It took me a while to get into the story but once I did it intrigued me so much...I love how the storyline evokes bit by bit and backwards, so only towards the end of it you're able to pull all pieces together. Also the last paragraph of the books leaves you wanting to get to part 2 of the trilogy right away.

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Fascinating, enthralling. I'm totally hooked.

An enthralling and scarily prescient tale from the queen of dystopia. Perfectly voiced by John Chancer. I'm so glad there are 2 more in the series!

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Cynical wit in a dark and bleak imagined world

It’s a challenging listen for many reasons. For one it has none of the ‘cosy catastrophe’ atmosphere found in many books in this genre. By this I mean it does not imagine a world in which we start again, that one might find in say a Wyndham novel. Instead it shows us an all too imaginable world destroyed by very current societal issues.

The narrator, who’s high, light and somehow sarcastic voice juxtaposes with the material he reads and makes for a very disturbing listening experience. Im not sure if I enjoyed his voice, but it is 'cast' well.

The main story describes some very cynical thought exercises on the future of ‘humanity’ from the perspective of memories from one of last remaining neurotypical humans alive. The author skilfully describes events from his past, but doesn’t spoon feed us with endless exposition.

The book is particularly challenging as there is so little humanity (as we would recognise) in the factors that decide fate of humanity. Yet the plot plays out not so far from the present and retains enough domesticity that we cannot imagine it playing out or relate to the characters.

The horror and power of the story is all the more disturbing as author simply describes an all to plausible world in which unregulated corporate capitalism and unethical science are allowed to run to their devastating conclusion.

I both love and hate the feeling this books stirs in me. I relate to the protagonist who is totally outgunned in the world he finds himself and which speaks to some of the very real disparities we can see more broadly in society today.

I found this book hard to rate. For one I do not like the narrators voice, but I also think it is perfect for the story.

IMO I found some of names for animals, corporations and other world objects slightly clunky. In the grand scheme of things this is relatively minor criticism, and one I find in other books of this kind.

Given some time for the book to sink in, I think this story will stay with me longer than many in its genre. However it is not entertaining or escapist; which I confess I usually look for in this genre.

The story itself is almost flawless, but I’m not sure I want to listen to the other books in the trilogy.

In sum this book left me feeling empty, powerless and somehow complicit. Perhaps that is why it is such a brilliant book!
Im not sure how I feel about it as an audiobook however.

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2 people found this helpful

A Disturbing vision of our Future

A dystopian alternative to the coming of age story. Atwood paints a bleak picture of our future in Oryx & Crake, which isn't for the faint-hearted. It goes without saying that Margaret Atwood is one of the generations most talented authors, and her style here does not disappoint. Sometimes witty, sometimes dark and disturbing, but always engaging and drawing you in.

John Chancer's narration was flawless and non-intrusive. I have no issues with how he characterised the Crakers, and can't understand why people found this to be a deal breaker.

This book held my interest throughout, and if you're a fan of the Dystopian Literature I would imagine it will do the same for you.

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1 person found this helpful

A plausible prophecy

This is a tale which may in some ways come to pass in our lifetime. A chaotic world is doomed by greed and carelessness. Moral depravity comes to its ultimate conclusion as capitalism collides with genetic engineering. The story of a protagonist trapped in the failings of a civilisation which reaches peak decay.

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A Story for Our Times

Reread, and enjoyed even more than before. Struck by the relevance to the current situation. Characters drawn with clarity and exactitude. What would we do without Margaret Atwood!

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