Oryx and Crake

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A stunning and provocative new novel by the internationally celebrated author of The Blind Assassin, winner of the Booker Prize

Margaret Atwood’s new novel is so utterly compelling, so prescient, so relevant, so terrifyingly-all-too-likely-to-be-true, that listeners may find their view of the world forever changed after listening to it.

This is Margaret Atwood at the absolute peak of her powers. For listeners of Oryx and Crake, nothing will ever look the same again.

The narrator of Atwood's riveting novel calls himself Snowman. When the story opens, he is sleeping in a tree, wearing an old bedsheet, mourning the loss of his beloved Oryx and his best friend Crake, and slowly starving to death. He searches for supplies in a wasteland where insects proliferate and pigoons and wolvogs ravage the pleeblands, where ordinary people once lived, and the Compounds that sheltered the extraordinary. As he tries to piece together what has taken place, the narrative shifts to decades earlier. How did everything fall apart so quickly? Why is he left with nothing but his haunting memories? Alone except for the green-eyed Children of Crake, who think of him as a kind of monster, he explores the answers to these questions in the double journey he takes - into his own past, and back to Crake's high-tech bubble-dome, where the Paradice Project unfolded and the world came to grief.

With breathtaking command of her shocking material, and with her customary sharp wit and dark humour, Atwood projects us into an outlandish yet wholly believable realm populated by characters who will continue to inhabit our dreams long after the last chapter. This is Margaret Atwood at the absolute peak of her powers.

©2002 O.W. Toad, Ltd. (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ingenious and disturbing.… A landmark work of speculative fiction, comparable to A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World.… Atwood has surpassed herself.”
–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Oryx and Crake can hold its own against any of the 20th century’s most potent dystopias – Brave New World, 1984, The Space Merchants – with regard to both dramatic impact and fertility of invention.…Oryx and Crake showcases a nightmare version of the present era of globalization on a globe coming apart at its ecological seams.… It is a scathing (because bang-on) portrait of the way we live now.…Majestic.…” –Washington Post

“Atwood’s new masterpiece.…Extraordinary.… [Atwood pulls] back the curtain on her terrible vision with such tantalizing precision, its fearsome implications don’t fully reveal themselves until the final pages.… A darkly comic work of speculative fiction.” –W Magazine (U.S.)

w.t.f.

Seriously though...w. t. f. All the way through, from beginning to end. It is....just...real?

Absolutely perfect writing

I never had the desire to read this author but now she will definitely become one of my favorites. This book flows effortlessly.

Entrancing Story

Loved Oryx and Crake. Great storytelling. Margaret Atwood is an incredible weaver of story, characters and the right amount of detail. I thought I might become bored with this story told from one man's perspective (Jimmy/Snowman), but I was drawn into it more and more, then MS. Atwood sprang the trap on me, I could not stop listening. I had to know what had happened and where/how it would end. The tale is very unique and haunting. It gave me the same " I'll never forget this book" feeling as when I read "The Handmaids Tale" years ago. The narrator Campbell Scott did an excellent job. His voice, tone and inflection perfectly suited to the character Snowman, and great differentiating between characters.

another great Margaret Atwood novel

fantastic book. strange, relatable, philosophical, at times even funny. Very thought provoking. so interesting to picture this dystopian world.

Cliffhanger

Definitely NOT a good idea to read this during Covid as the world ends with an Ebola-esqe pandemic. ends with a cliffhanger

Terrifying and intriguing

Loved it, a classic Attwood, maybe my favourite. She really knows how to make you squirm, and also despair about humanity.

Entertaining right to the end.

I loved how the plot unfolded small bits at a time, letting you wonder and continue to want answers. I couldn't stop listening. And the narration was fantastic.

Well Written But Predictable

Atwood is wonderful with the details. I can imagine the world she is creating clearly, but the big picture is too predictable. I spent most of the book waiting for a twist, for something unexpected, but then it just ends, almost mid-sentence. Perhaps reading the whole trilogy would make the experience more rewarding, but I don’t think I have the patience.
If you have read and liked other novels by Atwood, you will most likely like this one as well. If you haven’t, I would start with one of her stand alone novels.

Brilliant

The performance is exceptional. The story, full of fine detail, informative references to human history, culture, of species and evolution, and human manipulation of genes and species, is captivating and thought provoking.

Atwood is brilliant. Going on to the second in the trilogy.

Fascinating story about ageless human questions

Although some characters and situations are difficult and horrifying to imagine, this book delves amazingly into the truths of human nature , the roles of mythology and eugenics.