Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77050 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Sunday Times
'her style is accessibly anecdotal and impressively eclectic'

Rupert Winchester, The Telegraph
`witty, erudite and thoughtful'

The Guardian
`a masterclass in comic writing'

Customer Reviews

When We Pretend that We're Dead
What makes someone a writer? What's the role of the writer in the world today? Should she write just for Art's sake or does she have a social responsibility? Is there a third way? And is there an underlying (and universal) psychological reason behind every writer's desire to put words to paper? Margaret Atwood answers all these questions, and more, in six essays which were originally lectures given at Cambridge University.

The great thing about Atwood is that she doesn't place herself, or anyone else, on a pedestal. Her tone is warm, familiar, self-deprecating and very witty. She weaves quotes and poems into her explanations which give you a better understanding of those original works and even make you wish to go out and buy some of them (I've added Carol Shield's "Mary Swann" to my wish list.) This is the second time I read this book and I feel that I've gained new insight into what happens inside my head when I write. If you are a writer, this book is a must

One of the worst books
This is one of the worst books I've read. I struggled from beginning until page 149 and gave up because I could remember none of it. It's like one of those sociology textbooks, lots of quotations from other authors. I bought it because of Dinah Lee King's review in this thread and frankly, that review tells you all that's in the book. You don't need to read the rest. I wish I hadn't bought it.

'All writers are double' - some are simply magnificent
The amount of drivel written on writing has to be experienced to be believed. It is significant that many of the authors of this tripe are not to be found on any best seller list. They're hacks. Their words are tired. Their advice inane. Why any publisher produces their unhelpful prose is a mystery this writer cannot understand. What joy then to read Margaret Atwood's book. It will not give you 36 points on how to become a best selling novelist/poet/non-fiction writer/grafitti artist. It may not help you to write a single line at all. What it will display is great writing, sly wit, it will open a little, the door into the lives of writers and writing. It should inspire you. It should encourage you. It will definitely cause the occasional chuckle, among my favourites: "Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate." And, "all writers are double, for the simple reason you cannot meet the author of the book you just read. Too much time has elapsed between composition and publication, and the person who wrote the book is now a different person." It's worth being a different person. Read this book.