I am on a bit of pandemic, anxiety, general feeling of failure as a father reading kick and settled on good old post-appocalytic fiction to lighten my mood.....
I don't need to say that this is masterfully written. Atwood rarely does anything short of great.
The scariest thing about the future she depicts is that it is easy to see the through line that gets us to a very similar point. Human greed/shortcomings, government's abject apathy or inability to regulate the destruction of the common good in the face of rampant corporate power, the lack of ethical thinking in turning science into product are all features of our current society. It is not much of a stretch from here there.
It is odd that the only possibly good person in the novel is largely on construct. Oryx has suffered more than any of the protagonists, but in Snowman's construction of her she retains a basic goodness. Is that real or is she just playing him? Does it really matter?
It would be easy to make Crake a villain in this. He is the progenitor of the Fall and, in his mind, the Creation. Atwood undercuts this at the very end however, by making it clear that he has no intention of living in the new Eden. His final act ensures that Snowman will kill him.
It is hard to tell if leaving Snowman alive to keep the Crakers safe is intended as a vengeful jab or all part of the master plan. Snowman is not the best choice to keep the Crakers safe and pure. He is good with words, loyal, and capable of compassion, but he is also bitter and self-destructive.
Maybe Snowman was just a back up in case Oryx didn't make it. Maybe the plan was for Snowman and Oryx to act as a team. Maybe Crake did plan on seeing the new world ushered in until he was undone by Oryx.
In any case, the book is a good read and it didn't seem to make me any more depressed.
