The story of Oryx and Crake is told to us by 'Snowman' we find him living in a tree and he slowly reveals the story of his life and the title characters.
Atwood creates a brilliant alive and frighteningly believable world, and the story is gripping and intriguing. It is however unartfully told. The storytelling mechanic just serves to emphasise the fact you are reading a novel, it exposes the story rather than brings it to life. If the novel is compared of Remains of the Day; Stevens has a reason for and the time to reminisce making the storytelling much more fluid and natural. In Oryx and Crake we meet Snowman wring the story out of him and drop him seemingly arbitrarily. Having said that the ending was very good, Atwood shows huge respect for her readers in allowing us to decide what happens to Snowman and his 'Crakers'.
I read The Handmaid's Tale at A level and did not enjoy it, a friend bought me Oryx and Crake and thoroughly enjoyed it despite the storytelling mechanic. It has lifted the Atwood-block for me and I look forward to reading some of her classics.
