阿特伍德奇特的想象力贯穿于十一篇小说之中，她用冷峻而细腻的笔触描述了一个女孩成长的各个阶段的内心世界。在主人公的周围有伴侣、妹妹、父母、老师、邻居、朋友甚至房屋中介等等，人物之间既有生活的矛盾，也有淡淡的温情。通读全书，可以感受到不同的主人公对生命和历史的思索，对未来漫无目的的追求，而所有主角的背后都隐藏着个体女性当下坚韧的生活态度。

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

这是一部结构奇巧、故事里套故事的小说。小说有两个女主人公，一个是劳拉，小说一开始就在车祸中死去；另一个是她的姐姐艾丽丝，生活在死者的阴影中，回忆着 快被湮没的往事。有关盲刺客的故事是劳拉生前写的，描述了在动荡的20世纪30年代，一个富家小姐和一个在逃的穷小伙子的恋情。同时，这对恋人想象出了发 生在另一个星球上的故事。这个虚构的故事里充满了爱、牺牲与背叛。而现实生活中也是如此，艾丽丝嫁给了富商理查德，在外人看来，这是一桩美满的婚姻，殊不知，理查德将魔爪伸向了小姨子劳拉，于是，劳拉的车祸令人产生了怀疑……