Other books mentioned in review of Oryx and Crake, see below

A Review of Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

What a terrifying tale of the future that Margaret Atwood has envisioned for humanity. The story of Oryx and Crake is actually the story of Snowman, whose real name is Jimmy, and is the narrator of this post-Orwellian nightmare. I was not aware that this is the first book in a series, called the MaddAddam Trilogy, until after I had begun reading it, but I will most definitely continue with the other two books.
Snowman is narrating this tale as one of the very few humans left alive. Some ravaging disease, something engineered by man and has Ebola-like tendencies to reduce its victims to a liquified, bloody mess, has eliminated everyone, at least as far as Snowman knows. He is not sure whether there are any other humans like him left, but there are the Children of Crake living nearby, or Crakers as Snowman calls them, humanoid beings engineered by Crake, who was a "frenemy" of Jimmy's before the plague.
The flashbacks of life before, told from Jimmy's perspective, narrate a world divided into areas of science, known as Compounds, whose inhabitants are those brainiacs who engineer all of modern medicine and who live isolated, perfect lives away from the rest of humanity (Jimmy's first home is in the compound HealthWyzer). Everyone else lives in the "pleeblands" (LOVE that term!), areas where life is not much different than the here and now that we enjoy. Jimmy and Crake live in one such compound growing up, and there they enjoy a sheltered existence. Eventually they both go away to colleges and Crake becomes a scientist at the most wealthy and well-known compound, RejoovenEsense, while Jimmy is a low-earning copy writer for AnooYoo.
The main story narrates Jimmy's so-called life after the plague, and mainly shows his struggle to remain sane as he is alone on earth, even though he is not technically alone.
This story is one of the most creatively written stories I have ever read. Ms. Atwood's ability to build upon reality and successfully weave her fantasy is refreshing. One of my favorite aspects of the novel were the various animals that she had the scientists invent. Pigoons, for instance, are quite prominent in the tale. A pigoon is a genetically-modified pig that is used to grow transplant organs, but Jimmy suspects that they are used for food as well, which brings up an interesting canibalistic overtone. This very clearly reminded me of another terrific book, Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. That had a similar theme and was also quite a nightmarish tale, but very different from this one. One main difference is Ms. Atwood's ability to inject humor into such a dark story. It is, of course, dark humor, but unlikely all the same.
To some extent, this story reminded me of The Stand by Stephen King. The Stand was more focused on the aftermath, rather than building the world which spawned the before. I am wondering if the other two books will focus more on the after. It did seem that the main question that arises from the reader (how humanity got wiped out) was indeed answered, but the after story line, that of Snowman rather than Jimmy, was left unanswered.
If you like a good, cautionary tale, one with a lot of imagination and quite a bit of social commentary mixed in, I would highly recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the MaddAddam series.

Coming Soon!

A Review of Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee is primarily the story of two women, Little Bee and Sarah, who met under extreme circumstances in Bee's home country of Nigeria. Sarah was there with her husband, Andrew, and met Little Bee and her sister Nkiruka, on the beach where they were being chased by "the men who come"- army men intent upon killing them. The story begins with Little Bee's incarceration as an illegal immigrant in England, two years after her fateful meeting with Sarah. She is attempting to escape the murderers of her entire village, unluckily built upon an oil field.
This story contains many secrets; the secret of Little Bee's escape from the "men who come", the true nature of Andrew's suicide, which happens at the beginning of the story, the secret of why Charlie, Sarah and Andrew's four year old son, will only wear his Batman costume, and the secret of Little Bee's true name. It is told chapter by chapter, alternating narrators between Sarah and Bee.
While this story was extremely powerful and had a terrific message, it was not especially to my liking. I found it very sad, and while the story redeemed Sarah as a character (she is particularly flawed, but not unrealistically so), Little Bee was not given the same redemption. Perhaps this is simply true to life; that a sixteen year old girl who lived through atrocities in her own country, escaped illegally to try and seek refuge in England, and was not truly helped by anyone she came across is an accurate portrayal of this type of situation. It is true that Sarah did try to help Little Bee, and more than once. Again, this seems to be to Sarah's credit, but not as much to Little Bee's.
This story is well-written and engaging, in a sad sort of manner, but in all, I did not truly enjoy it. It lacked some fundamental element that can make a depressing story seem worthwhile. I am reminded of my favorite novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This tale is also quite sad, but is so encompassing, so amazingly joyful at the same time, that you are left (as I was, all 10 times I read it) with an uplifted feeling at the end. That is what I felt was missing from this story.

Coming Soon!