A man, once named Jimmy, lives in a tree, wrapped in old bedsheets, now calls himself Snowman. The voice of Oryx, the woman he loved, teasingly haunts him. And the green-eyed Children of Crake are, for some reason, his responsibility.
BY THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF THE HANDMAID'S TALE
FINALIST FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
THE FIRST VOLUME IN ATWOOD'S DARKLY WITTY MADDADDAM TRILOGY
'Shocking and darkly humorous . . . A book to galvanise' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Towering and intrepid . . . Atwood does Orwell one better' NEW YORKER
'Both profound and impish . . . Atwood is one of the most impressively ambitious writers of our time' GUARDIAN
'Oryx and Crake is Atwood at her best - dark, dry, scabrously witty, yet moving and studded with flashes of pure poetry' INDEPEDENT
Jimmy is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human. He lives in a tree, dresses himself in old bedsheets, and now calls himself Snowman. He mourns the loss of his best friend, Crake. And the voice of Oryx, the woman they both loved, teasingly haunts him.
Before, Snowman had led a privileged life. How did everything fall apart so quickly? Was he himself in any way at fault? Why has he now been left alone with his bizarre memories? And why are the green-eyed, more-than-perfect Children of Crake seemingly his responsibility?
Searching for answers, Snowman embarks on a journey through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride - a near future that is outlandish yet all too familiar.
'Gripping and remarkably imagined . . . it joins The Handmaid's Tale in the distinguished company of novels [like] The Time Machine, Brave New World and 1984' THE TIMES
'A powerful vision' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Atwood's dry wit makes dystopia fun' PEOPLE
'Gripping and remarkably imagined' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
'A roll of dry, black, parodic laughter' THE ECONOMIST
The writing is spare. The structure is tight. The observation of the human condition is both profound and impish. Character is crucial. The issues are huge and we feel the weight of them. Finally, it leaves the reader on a cliff-edge the like of which I have never encountered elsewhere. It was nominated for the Man Booker. I think it should have won
