Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces 2004–2021
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- Create Date：2022-03-03 03:41:39
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Margaret Atwood
- ISBN：1784744514
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Summary
** A 2022 Book to Look Forward To in The Times， i， Financial Times， Guardian， Evening Standard， New Statesman， Cosmopolitan and SheerLuxe **
From cultural icon Margaret Atwood comes a brilliant collection of essays -- funny， erudite， endlessly curious， uncannily prescient -- which seek answers to Burning Questions such as:
Why do people everywhere， in all cultures， tell stories？
How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating？
How can we live on our planet？
Is it true？ And is it fair？
What do zombies have to do with authoritarianism？
In over fifty pieces Atwood aims her prodigious intellect and impish humour at our world， and reports back to us on what she finds。 The roller-coaster period covered in the collection brought an end to the end of history， a financial crash， the rise of Trump and a pandemic。 From debt to tech， the climate crisis to freedom; from when to dispense advice to the young （answer: only when asked） to how to define granola， we have no better questioner of the many and varied mysteries of our human universe。
'Brilliant and funny' Joan Didion
'She's taken our times and made us wise to them' Ali Smith
'Lights a fire from the fears of our age 。 。 。 Miraculously balances humor， outrage， and beauty' New York Times Book Review
'All over the reading world， the history books are being opened to the next blank page and Atwood's name is written at the top of it' Anne Enright， Guardian
'The outstanding novelist of our age' Sunday Times
From cultural icon Margaret Atwood comes a brilliant collection of essays -- funny， erudite， endlessly curious， uncannily prescient -- which seek answers to Burning Questions such as:
Why do people everywhere， in all cultures， tell stories？
How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating？
How can we live on our planet？
Is it true？ And is it fair？
What do zombies have to do with authoritarianism？
In over fifty pieces Atwood aims her prodigious intellect and impish humour at our world， and reports back to us on what she finds。 The roller-coaster period covered in the collection brought an end to the end of history， a financial crash， the rise of Trump and a pandemic。 From debt to tech， the climate crisis to freedom; from when to dispense advice to the young （answer: only when asked） to how to define granola， we have no better questioner of the many and varied mysteries of our human universe。
'Brilliant and funny' Joan Didion
'She's taken our times and made us wise to them' Ali Smith
'Lights a fire from the fears of our age 。 。 。 Miraculously balances humor， outrage， and beauty' New York Times Book Review
'All over the reading world， the history books are being opened to the next blank page and Atwood's name is written at the top of it' Anne Enright， Guardian
'The outstanding novelist of our age' Sunday Times
Reviews
James
，
this book is great 。 here is an amazon link to it if you want check it out https://amzn。to/3C90QlW this book is great 。 here is an amazon link to it if you want check it out https://amzn。to/3C90QlW 。。。more
Caroline 'reading with Buddy'
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This is a mixed collection and it was interesting to read her take essays for a more complete view， as have only read the HMT and testaments， I did enjoy it， it was a book that I had to read a bit and then go back and read more and just absorb it。 But now that I have read it， think I will be sticking to her fiction。 I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own。
Janette
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I loved this collection of essays by Margaret Attwood。 They span a period of almost two decades but even the oldest essays still have resonance today。 She covers a wide range of subjects but mainly focuses on the art of writing including Canadian writers and the environment。 Many of the essays were originally given as lectures and this makes them very easy to read。 She writes about the things that she loves or that interest her and this shines through her writing。 It’s a great book to dip in and I loved this collection of essays by Margaret Attwood。 They span a period of almost two decades but even the oldest essays still have resonance today。 She covers a wide range of subjects but mainly focuses on the art of writing including Canadian writers and the environment。 Many of the essays were originally given as lectures and this makes them very easy to read。 She writes about the things that she loves or that interest her and this shines through her writing。 It’s a great book to dip in and out of。 I read an essay a day during my lunch breaks and often found myself thinking about what I had read later that day。 Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for a chance to read this ARC 。。。more
Sarah Reynolds
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A very interesting and thought provoking read for any Margaret Atwood fan， learnt something new about my favourite books too
Eleanor
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I really didn't want to rush this book - I wanted to give time and thought to the wealth of issues raised， questions asked and ideas suggested。 From human rights viewed from the perspective of extra-terrestrials， to feminism， to the environment; it is quite a feat to fit everything she discusses into one book。 As well as putting into context her own literature， its influences and relevance， she reflects on the impactful work of other writers- from Carson to Le Guin。 At times her writing is sophi I really didn't want to rush this book - I wanted to give time and thought to the wealth of issues raised， questions asked and ideas suggested。 From human rights viewed from the perspective of extra-terrestrials， to feminism， to the environment; it is quite a feat to fit everything she discusses into one book。 As well as putting into context her own literature， its influences and relevance， she reflects on the impactful work of other writers- from Carson to Le Guin。 At times her writing is sophisticated and analytical， at others it is colloquial and incredibly human， both of which are insightful。 Atwood's wit and intelligence runs throughout， making it an entertaining read。 。。。more
Pamela Scott
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Atwood is one of my favourite writers so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of this。 The book is very long for a collection of essays and I did struggle to get through the final pages。 I liked the range of topics on offer but especially enjoyed the essays about book， other writers and the author’s own writing life。 This is a solid read。
B。S。 Casey
，
• Why do people everywhere， in all cultures， tell stories？• How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating？• How can we live on our planet？• Is it true？ And is it fair？• What do zombies have to do with authoritarianism？These important questions are just a few of the over fifty subjects that Atwood dives into in this eclectic collection of essays and miscellaneous writing that spans nearly two decades。 With Atwoods ICONIC wit and storytelling， she's cultivated a collection that is not • Why do people everywhere， in all cultures， tell stories？• How much of yourself can you give away without evaporating？• How can we live on our planet？• Is it true？ And is it fair？• What do zombies have to do with authoritarianism？These important questions are just a few of the over fifty subjects that Atwood dives into in this eclectic collection of essays and miscellaneous writing that spans nearly two decades。 With Atwoods ICONIC wit and storytelling， she's cultivated a collection that is not only immensely entertaining， but thought provoking and wise at the same time。 Of course with such a vast array of subjects， this is definitely the type of book you can easily dip in and out of， and you may not find every piece to be of interest， but overall I can say I enjoyed reading the entire collection。 It's organised chronologically from 2004-2021， as opposed to by subject matters/similarities。 。。。more
Jo Rawlins
，
Margaret Atwood is incredibly knowledgeable; but importantly: she is wise。Reading Burning Questions was like meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones。 Some of the essays I had read before but most I had not yet come across。 Either way， there is so much to think about as you read through this collection。 I love how she weaves through her love of Shakespeare， the impact of Orwell's 1984， the experience of having written A Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace and Hagseed and Oryx and Crake （All Margaret Atwood is incredibly knowledgeable; but importantly: she is wise。Reading Burning Questions was like meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones。 Some of the essays I had read before but most I had not yet come across。 Either way， there is so much to think about as you read through this collection。 I love how she weaves through her love of Shakespeare， the impact of Orwell's 1984， the experience of having written A Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace and Hagseed and Oryx and Crake （All of which， I have read） with her deep concern for the state of the world: the environment， equality and abuse of power。 This is a highly readable collection of essays。 I will be dipping in and out of what will be a highly treasured collection from one of my favourite authors。I highly recommend Burning Questions to all who are intrigued by Atwood or the state of the world in general！Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jen Burrows
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Burning Questions is a mixed collection of essays and speeches， composed over the last 17 years。 While Atwood covers a range of topics， there are several recurring themes: the art of writing， the environment， retrospectives on Canadian authors。 The essays are presented chronologically， which sometimes leads to some oddly juxtaposed pieces， but with the sheer volume of material compiled here it's not surprising that there is quite a bit of repetition too。Atwood writes with her characteristic wisd Burning Questions is a mixed collection of essays and speeches， composed over the last 17 years。 While Atwood covers a range of topics， there are several recurring themes: the art of writing， the environment， retrospectives on Canadian authors。 The essays are presented chronologically， which sometimes leads to some oddly juxtaposed pieces， but with the sheer volume of material compiled here it's not surprising that there is quite a bit of repetition too。Atwood writes with her characteristic wisdom and sly humour， but I can't help but feel this compilation would have benefited from more critical curation。 En masse， some of the pieces lose their individual power。*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more
Helen Frost
，
An absolute treat for the mind。 I’d read The Handmaid’s Tale many years ago， as part of my English Literature A Level and had great respect for Margaret Atwood from that point。 I loved her highly original storyline， but also her great insight and observations into human nature。 I’ve since enjoyed her follow up to HMT， The Testaments， plus watched and enjoyed the associated TV adaptations。 The chance to ARC these， non fiction， essays was something I therefore jumped at。This book takes diverse and An absolute treat for the mind。 I’d read The Handmaid’s Tale many years ago， as part of my English Literature A Level and had great respect for Margaret Atwood from that point。 I loved her highly original storyline， but also her great insight and observations into human nature。 I’ve since enjoyed her follow up to HMT， The Testaments， plus watched and enjoyed the associated TV adaptations。 The chance to ARC these， non fiction， essays was something I therefore jumped at。This book takes diverse and thought provoking topics and gives the author’s own， unique and intelligent， feelings and take on them and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essays。 It was a real privilege to get to know the author better through her personal and honest thoughts and feelings and she does not hold back even amongst the more demanding and controversial subject areas which was refreshing and humbling。 I found I share a lot of her thought processes and ideals and I challenged some of my own preconceived ideas along the way too。 My ARC copy had a few formatting problems， for example certain letter patterns were omitted eg -ff and -th and any numeric values were also missing。 This actually didn’t detract too much however， it made it feel as though I was cracking some mystic code to unlock secrets and it was more than worth it。 A definite recommend from me。 。。。more
Sarah
，
2。5 rounded upBurning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces 2004–2021 collects Atwood's essays， speeches， book forewords and other miscellaneous non-fiction pieces produced of the last 17 years。 This latest collection follows Moving Targets: Writing with Intent 1982 - 2004 / Writing with Intent: Essays， Reviews， Personal Prose， 1983-2005 and Second Words: Selected Critical Prose。As can be seen from the above wide range of formats of the pieces included， the book covers a number of mediums and 2。5 rounded upBurning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces 2004–2021 collects Atwood's essays， speeches， book forewords and other miscellaneous non-fiction pieces produced of the last 17 years。 This latest collection follows Moving Targets: Writing with Intent 1982 - 2004 / Writing with Intent: Essays， Reviews， Personal Prose， 1983-2005 and Second Words: Selected Critical Prose。As can be seen from the above wide range of formats of the pieces included， the book covers a number of mediums and a large variety of topics。 My own personal preference would have been for these to have been reduced / streamlined in quantity to form a more coherent overall collection - or maybe if they had been presented in a different way， as reading the forewords to a couple of random books in a row and out of context doesn't really appeal to me， and I'd rather the book was more curated or grouped by topic than presented chronologically。 Perhaps one more for the completist Atwood fans among us， but I think I'll probably be sticking to her fiction in the future。 Thank you Netgalley and Vintage for the advance copy， which was provided in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Roman Clodia
，
This is a compilation of Atwood's talks， speeches， book reviews， published forewords and other miscellaneous pieces from 2004 forwards。 What is striking is the sheer range of Atwood's interests and the way she manages to put herself into her words making them both public and personal。 The talks and lectures do read as verbal pieces and there are presentational things that we say， that we wouldn't generally write。 But everything she turns her hand to is insightful without ever becoming supercilio This is a compilation of Atwood's talks， speeches， book reviews， published forewords and other miscellaneous pieces from 2004 forwards。 What is striking is the sheer range of Atwood's interests and the way she manages to put herself into her words making them both public and personal。 The talks and lectures do read as verbal pieces and there are presentational things that we say， that we wouldn't generally write。 But everything she turns her hand to is insightful without ever becoming supercilious or know-all-y （despite the fact she really does know an awful lot！） With no soapbox feel， no posturing， no beating us over the head， this is a shared kind of conversation， no matter how urgent the topics。 From insider views on her writing and books， to her thoughts on Doris Lessing and Simone de Beauvoir， to the climate emergency and erosion of democracy， Atwood is passionate but balanced， eminently reasonable though incisive， with a keen eye on the intersections between literature and politics。Thanks to Vintage/Chatto & Windus for an ARC via NetGalley 。。。more
Henk
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