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Burning Questions

Essays and Occasional Pieces 2004–2021

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About this listen

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 fifty 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, Yvonne Boyer

© Margaret Atwood 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 21st Century Essays Modern Politics & Government Social Sciences Nonfiction Funny

Critic reviews

This isn't just a collection of essays for Atwood fans. Rather, this is an attempt to make sense of the world, taking in with characteristic verve everything from Anne of Green Gables to Donald Trump, zombies to censorship . . . While the tone skates from surreal off-kilter wit to impassioned gravity, Atwood always makes the idea of big questions a little more digestible . . . The collection is polyphonic, enthusiastic, illuminating (Sophie Macintosh)
Margaret Atwood was recently described in a Guardian interview as "arguably the most famous living literary novelist in the world", and she is undoubtedly the most venerable . . . It's fascinating to read Atwood's reflections on her own novels and their continued relevance . . . but equally striking to see how many pieces she has included here generously celebrating other writers (Stephanie Merritt)
If there's one person in the world from whom you'd want a hot take on the most pressing issues, it would surely be Margaret Atwood . . . She answers our burning questions on climate change, the rise of Trump and on to debt and tech (Joanna Taylor)
With her bold imagination, calm insight, and wit, Atwood gathers diverse strands into a marvellous collection ranging from the history of forests to the nature of science fiction and beyond. Burning Questions is a delicious antidote to intellectual fragmentation that left me inspired (Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life)
A compilation of essays that pick the brain of Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood, this is a wonderfully written insight into everything from zombies to the climate crisis
I drank in the book this past weekend, in two warm slugs (Jennifer Senior)
[Atwood's] intelligence shines off the page with such intensity it makes you blink (Rose Shepherd)
The mighty Margaret Atwood writes about everything from granola to Trump (Robbie Millen)
Atwood's third collection of essays...does not fail to impress... This is one to dip into again and again, and is likely to remain relevant many years into the future
Atwood...always...gets right to the heart of the matter... More than 50 pieces display her astonishing range... Each is written with her trademark wit (Erica Wagner)
All stars
Most relevant
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

Fascinating, entertaining and funny

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

Thoroughly delicious treat for our ears

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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.

Fantastic!

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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.

Love the stories

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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.

Always a pleasure

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