I’m trying not to fret about my progress through my book pile – I have finished the large hardback I was working my way through, have made decent inroads into my Maya Angelou poems and with this one am reviewing my fourth NetGalley read and am over half-way through the Charlotte Mendelson. Plus work has calmed down a bit so I have some reading time back. All good! One small issue with this one was that the version I sent to Kindle was full of formatting errors and unreadable, so I had to resort to the NetGalley Shelf app on my tablet, which doesn’t allow one (me, at any rate) to mark passages to quote later, just bookmark pages. So I hope I can remember what I was marking when I did so!
Margaret Atwood – “Burning Questions”
(13 March 2022)
I write books about possibly unpleasant futures in the hope that we will not allow these futures into reality. Under the circumstances, we’re doing moderately well […] Under what circumstances do we wish to live? Perhaps this is the real question we should be asking ourselves. It’s dark inside the wolf, yes; but it’s light outside the wolf. So, how do we get there?
I think I have Atwood’s first book of essays and pieces somewhere, and didn’t read her second: this is her third collection and gives us pieces, speeches, reviews and introductions from the last twenty years or so. Of course not every piece in a fifty-item book is going to be equally appealing to everyone; the horror theme she enjoys left me passing over articles on zombies, in particular, but also there’s something for everyone, and I learned about some new writers to me.
Somewhat naturally, the pieces that appealed most to me were those about her writing and the adaptations of it and about her life; the nature pieces were also good. There was little repetition apart from a general appreciation for her free and unconstrained childhood and the urgent need to address issues of climate change. I particularly liked “Polonia” which looked at her growing need to help people, unasked, as she ages, very funny and wry; her piece on Marilla as the character who experiences true growth in “Anne of Green Gables”; her obituary of Doris Lessing and her piece on how scared she was of Simone de Beauvoir; and “Buttons and Bows” about clothes in her life and in writing. As mentioned above she covers nature and its protection, birds, climate change and the wrongs done to Canadian First Nations writers [as she styles them]. It comes bang up to date with the pandemic and the devastating loss of her partner, Graeme Gibson.
I think my favourite piece was “A Writing Life”, in which she details a week of trying to write (this reminded me a bit of Dorothy Whipple’s “Random Commentary“) with a twist in the tale about one item that was easy to write. Funny and realistic, clear and practical: Atwood at her non-fiction best. I liked her mention of not wanting to look at the writer’s life when reading Kafka et al. as that linked with my reception theory interest, however much it might be rooted in not wanting to read a lot as a student …
An excellent collection I felt privileged to read, and especially good if you’re a fan of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Testaments”, although she treats others of her modern books, too.
Thank you to Vintage Books for selecting me to read this book in return for an honest review. “Burning Questions” was published on 1 March 2022.
Mar 19, 2022 @ 16:49:26
Okay, now I’m regretting not requesting this, but may be also not since this might be a collection one is more likely to enjoy at a more leisurely pace (and that I still have 4 march books left, despite having tackled a couple in February). The Marilla piece is certainly interesting me as also her pieces on her writing.
Glad your work pressure has eased a bit. Happy reading!
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Mar 19, 2022 @ 17:21:57
6.25 March books to go for me! I’d say I did probably push through it a bit rapidly so you might well be better off waiting!
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Mar 19, 2022 @ 17:27:45
On occasion, I’ve had that issue with Kindle downloads from Net Galley. Not a fan of the Net Galley reading app either. Sounds like you did alright tho, your review was very thorough! Glad you found something to enjoy.
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Mar 19, 2022 @ 17:32:04
It is rare but annoying – all numbers and any ligatured letter combos (th and fi!) were just blank! And yes, the app is so annoying plus things don’t stay on there forever, either. Anyway, yes, got there in the end and thank you – it’s always hard to review collections like that.
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Mar 19, 2022 @ 20:53:45
Sounds great Liz – I do enjoy Atwood’s non-fiction, though I will probably wait until this is out in paperback. I’m not fond of e-reading at the best of times, and I don’t like feeling pressured about reading a book either!
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 08:35:24
It’s quite a big one so worth mulling over, and you will know more of the science fiction type authors she discusses. Very well worth reading, though!
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Mar 19, 2022 @ 22:11:11
My feelings about Atwood are complicated, but she does really nail it with some of her nonfiction writing! I really want to read what she has to say about Marilla.
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 08:36:28
I hear you – I have avoided her Oryx and Crake books though did find a lot of value in The Testaments after having Handmaid’s Tale in my life for so long, so I don’t reject all her speculative fiction. She doesn’t disappoint here!
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 11:01:37
I am looking forward to reading this, I treated myself to the hardback.I don’t think I have read many of her essays, some of her shorter fiction that I have read were quite essay like in some ways, so can’t remember now if they were essays or stories. I like the sound of the breadth of these, and glad they come so up to date.
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 14:00:37
Oh lovely, it is a good one and I know you’ll enjoy it – esp as you’ve read the Oryx and Crake ones which she discusses at length.
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 12:01:56
I enjoy reading articles by her, but I don’t think I’d want to read a whole book of her essays. That said… now I hear she has a new collection of short stories coming out on April 1, and it was nowhere on my radar!
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 14:01:14
It’s a mix of essays, speeches, reviews and introductions to books so quite varied. I had no idea about the short stories, either!
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 14:39:39
Now I’m not sure. I saw one short story being released on August 4, which is available for request on NetGalley that I requested, and then Amazon says there’s different one coming out April 1, which I pre-ordered, after I saw it on the Fantastic Fiction site, and thought it was a collection, but it isn’t. Sorry!
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Mar 20, 2022 @ 15:24:30
She’s always thought-provoking so I think I’d enjoy this. I’d skip over the horror zombie stuff too though…
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Mar 21, 2022 @ 09:12:15
Well there is something for everyone and my next commenter wants the zombie bits, so all good!
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Mar 21, 2022 @ 08:46:04
This actually sounds quite good although I’m not an Atwood fan – haven’t really liked any of her novels I’ve read except The Handmaid’s Tale and maybe Alias Grace. I do like her short stories, though. I’m surprised to hear she writes about zombies, but I’d definitely be keen to read those sections!
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Mar 21, 2022 @ 09:12:51
She has quite a few pieces on both of those books, plus much more general ones, so might be worth a go!
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Mar 21, 2022 @ 15:36:55
Your review reminds me of just how much I enjoy Atwood’s work, including her speculative fiction. I’ve read some of her essays (and poetry) in the past, although I don’t think I’ve made it through an entire collection; I read both genres pretty slowly and space them between novels. I’ll definitely get this collection, but, like Kaggsy, will probably wait for the paperback, which I will then browse at my leisure.
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Mar 21, 2022 @ 18:56:28
That sounds like a good plan! It is a good read and one I’m sure you will enjoy.
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Mar 22, 2022 @ 01:37:21
I can’t wait to start reading this. I treated myself and bought a copy so I wouldn’t have the pressure of the library due date.
Everything you have to say just fuels the anticipation!
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Mar 22, 2022 @ 09:13:32
I’d say it’s definitely one to be savoured. I’ll look forward to reading what you think about it!
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Mar 23, 2022 @ 02:25:16
Nice review Liz. I have read quite a few of Atwood’s dystopian fiction novels, so think I would have probably read and enjoyed the Zombie articles that you skipped.
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Mar 23, 2022 @ 09:18:47
It’s a good collection, well worth a go! I’m not a zombie fan, but it was easy to leave those aside and I enjoyed and engaged with most of the pieces!
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Book review – Erika L. Sanchez – “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” | Adventures in reading, running and working from home
Mar 27, 2022 @ 10:57:48
Mar 30, 2022 @ 19:37:59
That piece about the seven days of writing really made me laugh too! (I can’t remember where I read it originally, but not here, cuz I’m still saving it.) If I’ve still not gotten far with this by the time MARM rolls around in November, maybe I’ll read it then!
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Mar 31, 2022 @ 13:33:55
It’s a good one, isn’t it!
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Apr 03, 2022 @ 17:43:13
I loved the humour and wit that runs through the pieces, even the more serious ones. My favourite parts were her speeches—wish I could’ve listened to them in person.
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Apr 03, 2022 @ 18:02:43
Welcome to my blog! Yes, that is true, full of wit and humour and sparkle, aren’t they. I have had the privilege to transcribe an event she spoke at (an interview style one) and she is certainly a formidable speaker; I’d love to have seen them, too!
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