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Burning Questions cover art

Burning Questions

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Margaret Atwood, Ann Dowd, Ciarán Hinds, Kaniehtiio Horn, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Naomi Alderman, Omar El Akkad, Tori Dunlap, Esi Edugyan, Lorna Crozier, Tess Degenstein, Stephanie Belding, Amelia Sargisson
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

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 50 pieces, Atwood aims her prodigious intellect and impish humour at the world, and reports back to us on what she finds. This roller-coaster period brought 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 guide to the many and varied mysteries of our universe.

Read by: Amanda Cordner, Amelia Sargisson, Ann Dowd, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Becky Hardie, Ciarán Hinds, Claudia Dey, Damian Rogers, Dr. Asha de Vos, Dr. Vincent Lam, Esi Edugya, Georgia Toews, Heather O'Neill, Ian Davidson, Kaniehtiio Horn, Katie Ryerson, Kelly McCormack, Lee Boudreaux, Lorna Crozier, Margaret Atwood, Marie Henein, Megan Follows, Naomi Alderman, Omar El-Akkad, Patricia Zurita, R.H. Thomson, Rebecca Liddiard, Robyn Doolittle, Stephanie Belding, Stephen Ouimette, Tess Degenstein, Tiffany Ayalik, Tomson Highway, Tori Dunlap, Yasmeen Hassan and Yvonne Boyer.

©2022 Margaret Atwood (P)2022 Penguin Audio

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A Fair Mix of Essays

This collection is a mixed bag, for me. Some essays and lectures were really interesting but others not so much.

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Fantastic!

In some ways, I think I probably enjoyed this even more than if I had read it —especially the chapter “Greeting Earthlings!…” Whether you listen or read, this collection is an illuminating volume that, in the best tradition, asks, but not necessarily, answers questions that are so important to humanity today.

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Always a pleasure

Atwood’s work never fails to delight, stimulate and educate. These essays and talks are sufficiently varied to really showcase the versatility and high intelligence of their author.

They also show Atwood as someone still passionately involved in the society and natural world she has lived in for 80 plus years.

The readers are as varied as the pieces themselves. Each reader brings a fresh voice to the book, and it is never boring. Some of the essay topics were more accessible to me than others - but I relished the opportunity to expand my horizons by learning about subjects I may not have encountered before.

One of my most memorable literary experiences was hearing Atwood speak at a festival some years ago. This book gave me that experience all over again. Serious but also funny; erudite and uplifting.

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Fascinating, entertaining and funny

A really super collection of writing that was a joy to listen to. All performances were great, but would have loved to hear Margaret’s own voice more

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Thoroughly delicious treat for our ears

Love love love this book . Thank you so much @margaretatwood . So wonderfully engaging and moreish …….. xxx

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Love the stories

Good book, I took it chapter by chapter. Very interesting personal stories as well as historical events that shaped her as a person and her writing.

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