Oryx and Crake isn’t about the future it’s about the present. If some of these details sound uncomfortably like the present, well, that’s the point. Oh, and corporations control the world, social and economic inequality are endemic, catastrophic climate change is a given, and science and technology, especially genetic engineering, are exploited purely for profit by said all-powerful corporations without regard for human consequences. Potential outrages include a narcissistic, self-pitying protagonist who treats women poorly, unflinching depictions of child pornography and sex slavery, all manner of unfettered consumerist debauchery, and (spoiler alert) the deliberate annihilation of the human race by a brilliant scientist. Oryx and Crake isn’t a book for the faint of heart or the easily offended. As in The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), her classic takedown of totalitarian theocratic misogyny, the author’s satiric wit is razor-sharp and unsparing. But examines isn’t the right word for what Atwood accomplishes here eviscerates is more fitting. Part dystopian satire, part post-apocalyptic nightmare, the novel examines the flaws of contemporary society through the lens of an imagined future that could all too easily come to pass. Oryx and Crake is speculative fiction at its finest.
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