"When any civilization is dust and ashes, art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning - human meaning, that is - is defined by them."
Atwood's vision of the future builds on what we know of the world today: science, technology, climate change, geopolitical conflict, class issues, and so on. It is a land of bioterrorism where the elite are hidden away in their protected, germ-free domes, using their skills to build what they hope is a better life, or at least one free from the pain of the outisde world. As is typical of any fictional utopian/dystopian vision, things fall apart.
"How much misery...how much needless despair has been caused by a series of biological mismatches, a misalignment of the hormones and pheromones? Resulting in the fact that the one you love so passionately won't or can't love you. As a species we're pathetic in that way..."
But why do things fall apart? Is it about our excesses, either self-destructive in and of themselves or aided by nature taking a hand in curbing them, or is it a question of how we relate not only to the world but to each other? And in the end, what exactly is human nature, and is it inherently good or evil? There are the questions Atwood raises, and while she doesn't exactly answer them, she makes her point in the midst of a well-told, chilling narrative.
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood (2003). Rating (using the poker hand scale): four of a kind.
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