Oryx and Crake

Abstract

Written as a dystopian novel, it focuses on Jimmy, also known as Snowman, a supposedly lone human who lives in a post-apocalyptic world - devastated by a man-made plague - alongside genetically modified creatures called Crakers. In a series of flashback memories, Jimmy reminisces on his former life with his parents, his mother’s disappearance, and his relationship with peculiar friends called Crake and Oryx. During his life in the pre-apocalyptic world, Jimmy was a brilliant yet frustrated scientist who was invited to work with Crake in a biotech corporation. Jimmy was astonished by the well-advanced technology been developed in the corporation; nevertheless, events were not as perfect as it seemed. The novel describes the tangible dangers of genetic engineering, corporation greed and extreme capitalism impacts on society which leads to a rather difficult relationship between humans and nature.