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Atwood is a very talented descriptive writer. You can really see, feel and hear the story's setting as it unfolds. In fact, she does this better than any SF writer I could think of.
Unfortunately, she swings and misses on character motivation. And her use of science and technology seems just "tacked on", and not particularly well thought through. This is instead of being integral to the story--the mark of superlative SF.
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Unfortunately, she swings and misses on character motivation. And her use of science and technology seems just "tacked on", and not particularly well thought through. This is instead of being integral to the story--the mark of superlative SF.
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This is scary stuff, but fascinating, because I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility for these events to occur. Atwood has great vision and not only an understanding of society and its workings, but of human nature and psychology as well. She not only brings this futuristic society to life, she makes her characters real and empathetic. This is a must-read!
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Strange little book, but intriguing. The post-apocalyptic world Atwood imagines can certainly be imagined from the state of our world today. As the first of a trilogy, I wasn't sure I would follow up with the other two books, but the last few chapters hooked me. Overall, I thought the majority of the book was slow, but despite that, I am now caught in the story.
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This book was very frustrating to read. The constant switch between past and present narration was confusing. The present narration left me with so many questions, many of which were not answered until near the end of the book (but at least they were all answered-praise for Atwood for tying up all her loose ends). Oryx's character frustrated me to the very end, though. Her unusual way of thinking about her life never gelled with me. I wanted to slap her so many times and tell her to snap out of
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I wouldn't class this as sci-fi but Atwood borrows from it a bit in this novel about biological apocalypse in a model somewhat reminiscent of Orwell. This would be an excellent book club read and can be pushed to several levels of depth. I'm sorry there are no such book clubs available to me to dissect it. Classic Atwood.
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Jan 13, 2011
Lee-Ann
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Kelly
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