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.)

Top-notch literary science-fiction

If only all Audios were this good. Fine, serious writing, gripping and fast-moving plot, inventive settings, delightful turns of phrase, plenty of surprises, and a powerful message with a challenging conclusion. A classic dystopian vision of arresting originality, compelling characterization and great depth (with just the occasional anachronism - aspirin? hard-copy CVs? but these are quibbles). The narration is spot-on too.

Very strange and slow. Nice.

Well constructed, well written. Very strange. Very nice :)

Good but dark

I liked the book overall. The ending was somewhat sudden, but at the same time I think it was perfect -- Snowman had to come to terms with the future, and what it should or should not hold.

I'm not sure I should have gotten the book. After listening to an audiobook for a few hours, I get increasingly hooked, and end up spending all of my spare time listening to it -- commuting, cleaning house, grocery shopping, knitting, whatever -- and this book was a little dark for that. I think it darkened my outlook on life for a few days. But it would be great for a long drive; it was very interesting and entertaining.

Brilliant Atwood

Although I am a fan of Margaret Atwood's, I hesitated to listen to this book because the premise seemed sooooo far fetched. However, from page 1 she makes it believable, tells an interesting and at times heartbreaking story, and presents to us (in true Atwood fashion) the hard questions, for which there may be no answer.

Never want it to end!

Which is why there are so many reviewers disappointed by the end. There is no end. You need to use your brain and think. Excellent read! I was dreading the end from the beginning!

fascinating

once I got hooked I couldn't get this book out of my head. Listened to The Year of the Flood right afterwards and then came back to listen to this again- so well done. I can't recommend both books enough.

Not a thriller. But thrilling.

Any additional comments?

Give this book some time to get its claws into you. This is smart writing. The story needs some time to develop; but if you are a true science fiction fan, philosophy fan or just want a gorgeous narrative, this book is for you. The depth and detail of this future world is outstanding. The characters are so ripe and fully fleshed out they pop off the page. This book would probably be something for a big Bradbury fan. If you want a great post apocalyptic with more action I recommend Justin Cronins "The passage".

Bottom line, I loved it and will be reading the sequel...now. It's why I'm up at 4:13 AM on a wednesday. Three cheers for real deal science fiction.

Perfect narration, haunting story, MADDENING MUSIC

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The entrance and exit music!! SO FRUSTRATING!! I realize the big publishers often do this - but it's insulting to the listener (we can't figure out the book is starting? We can't figure out it just ended?) and it robs the final moments in particular from really landing. I want to hear the narrator provide the closure without being led by the hand musically.

Do you think Oryx and Crake needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It has them and I'm looking forward to listening but I'm dreading the stupid opening music over the first few sentences and I'm REALLY dreading the end music over the final lines of the book.

Any additional comments?

Campbell Scott did a tremendous, moving job with his performance. And Atwood's book is riveting - as good as it gets. I read it when it first came out and it stayed with me all these years. And listening to the audiobook was a real pleasure (music aside).

slow start

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

depends on the readers appreciation for dystopian novels. If you can see Tom Hanks castaway through to the end, you'll enjoy the pay off at the end of this book.

Have you listened to any of Campbell Scott’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

the narrator was rather slow, I just sped up the narrator speed and it was fine.

Any additional comments?

It's no Handmaid's Tale. But I enjoyed the advencher this book took me on.

Terrific

This will not disappoint - great book, and a great job by Campbell Scott in dramatizing it. I liked the way they flagged the ending, so the listener could "feel" the last page between their fingertips, which I find very rewarding. I can only imagine this, but I think the experience of listening perhaps would even equal the experience of actually reading it