Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

I was looking for something reliable at the library, and decided on an Atwood book. I think I was in the mood for a women's friendship book and instead I ended up with a dystopia sci-fi book, but it was a good one. I was definitely reminded of how good a sci-fi writer Atwood is, this book pushing her capabilities further than even Handmaid's Tale.

This book takes place in an alternative future, alternating between two times. The first is when the world as we know it reached its peak of scientific "progress". This time is best captured here, in a discussion of a major company's business model:

"There were pigoons at NooSkins, just as at OrganInc Farms, but these were smaller and were being used to develop skin-related biotechnologies. The main idea was the find a method of replacing the older epidermis with a fresh one, not a laser-thinned or dermabraded short-term resurfacing but a genuine start-over skin that would be wrinkle- and blemish-free."

The second time frame in the story takes place after this world has imploded due to too much technology being misused. The new world can only be described as post-apocolyptic, reminding me of a wasteland I don't remember since seventh grade's Canticle for Liebowitz.

"Along the road is a trail of objects people must have dropped in flight, like a treasure hunt in reverse. A suitcases, a knapsack spilling out clothes and trinkets; an overnight bag, broken open, beside it a forlorn pink toothbrush. A bracelet; a woman's hair ornament in the shape of a butterfly; a notebook, its pages soaked, the handwriting illegible. The fugitives must have had hope, to begin with. They must have thought th'd have a use for these things later. Then they'd changed their minds and let go."

The narrator is named Snowman (formerly known as Jimmy in the old world), and he was best friends with Crake and in love with Oryx, the title characters. Now Snowman seems to be the only human left on earth, kept alive by specially bred species who used to be science experiments. Growing up, he worshipped Crake as an older brother-style role model. His life starts to fall apart while Crake becomes the darling of a multinational conglomerate. As the story unfolds we learn more about Crake's motives and drive, and more about Jimmy's path to becoming Snowman.

I liked reading this book and thought it had a more satisfying ending than Atwood's books usually have. However, it's not for the weak of heart. It's hard-core sci-fi and takes some patience to learn all the language and ocnstructs relating to this new world.