Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is the first book in the MaddAddam Trilogy, a story about the apocalypse. In usual Atwood fashion, we're dropped in the middle of the story as she takes us back in time to see how mankind was virtually wiped out, while also following the current timeline. Snowman used to to Jimmy, before the world ended. His best friend was Crake, who had another name as well. Crake is a brilliant, nihilistic scientist and Jimmy is an average guy who's pretty good with words. Oryx is an obsession, an imaginary person made real through the adolescent sexual escapades of Crake and Jimmy. When the world finally comes crashing down around them, Jimmy is the only one left alive, other than the Crakers, a new breed of humans created just before the end. With their help, Snowman must not just survive, but find something to live for.

Margaret Atwood brings her futuristic society to life brilliantly, but I feel she may overdo it a bit. She imagines a world where teenagers watch kiddie porn on a regular basis and barely flinch at snuff films of violent executions in foreign countries. As much as we'd like to deny it, we know girls like Oryx exist, with early childhood sexual trauma, but we don't expect it to be normalized. I really enjoyed Snowman's interactions with the Crakers, especially the mythologies he creates for them. I'm looking forward to reading the next book, but knowing Atwood it will be totally different than this one.

Note: This is my second reading of Oryx and Crake. I couldn't remember enough details to continue the series, so I thought I read the book when it was first published. It turns out I read it in January 2014, when I had a two-month-old frying my brain! (Thanks Goodreads for tracking my reading!)

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace is the semi-fictionalized story of Grace Marks, Canada's most notorious murderess of the 19^th Century. Her story was sensationalized at the time, and Atwood takes this sensationalism to explore a supernatural explanation to Grace Marks' loss of memory during the murders of her master Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery. Atwood digs into her fictional Grace through a psychologist, Dr. Simon Jordan, after Grace has been in prison for fifteen years. She tells her story while we see how she lives in prison while working the Prison's Governor's home. Dr. Jordan's story is also told, and we see how desperately he wants to believe that he can figure her out and fix her so that he can legitimize his work. The key to unlocking Grace's memory is Mary Whitney, an old friend who died too young. But how can a dead girl answer questions? In ways you couldn't imagine.

I'm still new to Margaret Atwood, but I was pretty disappointed in her storytelling here. Maybe it's because this wasn't the usual dystopian I'm used to from her, or maybe it's because I was expecting a bigger, better explanation. It took forever to get through the first 100 pages, but after that the story moved quickly. Without adding any spoilers, I'd just like to stay there was a specific (and obvious) scene where I feel like I figured it all out. I know why Grace did what she did, even if she couldn't remember. And while I don't have a problem with that type of storytelling, I tend to see Atwood as wanting to keep her readers in the dark as much as possible, or at least as much as her characters.

I loved the story and I'm looking forward to watching the mini-series on Netflix, which was my main motivation for reading this. I will post a link to my review of the mini-series once I watch it. 

The Book of Dust, Volume One: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

This is the story of Malcolm Polstead, son of a tavern owner, friend of nuns, and protector of Lyra Belacqua. About a decade before Lyra's adventures in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy she is a baby being cared for by a priory of nuns in Oxford. But sinister people are trying to take Lyra away from the priory and Malcolm knows it. When a massive flood hits Oxford Malcolm and Alice, a teenager who works in Malcolm's family tavern, save Lyra and escape down river in Malcolm's canoe, La Belle Sauvage. They must struggle to stay alive and get Lyra to the safety of her father.

I was not impressed with this book, especially since I love the original trilogy. This is part one of a two-part prequel to His Dark Materials, an amazing Young Adult trilogy set in a parallel universe. I felt like Pullman was trying to make this story just as magical and fantastic as the other stories, and he couldn't quite pull it off. Parts of the story, like the giant flood, don't make sense no matter what universe you're in. It was just interesting enough to keep me reading and since I need to know how the adventure ends, I'll read part two when it's published. 

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

This is a collection of fifteen Norse myths, focusing on Odin, Thor, and Loki as well as the beginning and the end of the world. These adventure stories of the gods are funny, entertaining, and great for younger readers. Nowadays most of us know the Marvel comics/movie versions of these gods, which is a bit nicer than the original stories. I like the parallels to other religions and mythologies (like Odin sacrificing himself to himself like Jesus). Some of the stories are absolutely absurd but will at least give you a good laugh. I look forward to introducing my son to this when he gets a little bit older.