Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake takes a really interesting look at what our current society would be like if it was pushed not too much further from where it already is right now. The dystopia that the author creates is unsettling because of how closely it mirrors reality. I enjoyed what I read of the novel, since in addition to the overall world and concepts, the writing style and humor is enjoyable as well. One of the more clever puns in the story I enjoyed was the company name "OrganInc Farms". Another aspect of the book that I liked was how the inner conflicts in the characters was very believable. Snowman/Jimmy's desire for love/approval was handled particularly well. The only parts of the story that I would consider unsuccessful are just specific technical details about this dystopia that break the believability of the rest of the novel. An example of this is the games that Jimmy and Crake find themselves playing for fun. If Jimmy is being portrayed as a disenchanted and generalized example of American youth at that time, he would probably spend his time on games that incorporated immersive and real-time interaction rather than board games. Luckily, these parts don't occur that often within the novel.