I have become increasingly aware of a phenomenon I’ve come to refer to as ‘emptiness’ in literature.  Some books feel ‘empty’ - they are simply narratives with no point other than discovering the conclusion.  But isn’t the conclusion the whole reason for reading?  There are two other reasons that I can think of; the nuances art and exploration.

Art – some writing is so skillfully put together that it can describe even the most ordinary narrative in lavish imagery.  Dickens comes to mind as an example; his books drag on for hundreds of pages and the plot proceeds so slowly that, were it not for the variety, subtlety and creativity of his language I would quickly lose interest.

Exploration – some writing is not simply a means to an end, but a series of discoveries or epiphanies.  Crime and Punishment was something like this – the entire novel stretched over only a few days but the depth of mental exploration ensured that something new was always happening even if it was with the same character in the same location under nearly the same circumstances.

So why did Oryx and Crake feel empty?  It obviously had a clever purpose and an allegorical agenda yet it vacillated between tedious flashbacks and an ‘empty’ present.  I suffered through the flashbacks’ disjointed lack of setting simply for the essential information they contained.  The ‘present’ felt empty because writing, believably, about the future requires creating a deeply immersive milieu of pure fiction –something requiring considerable creativity and descriptive talent that, apparently, Margret Atwood lacks. 

Once the flashbacks caught up with the present, the emptiness took over.  The point, and it was rather singular, had been made and now the construct of the story was tiresomely loitering about, like a guest who doesn’t realize the party has ended –something one suffers through before one can finish up and go to bed.  With the exploration over, my mind became aware of the lack of art in the writing, and the final sequence of man against nature was an experience akin to watching television.