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A review by book_concierge
Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing by Margaret Atwood
2.0
2.5**
Alternate or Subtitle: A Writer on Writing
Atwood was asked to give the Empson lectures at Cambridge University in 2000. The series of six presentations were intended for scholars, students and the general public. This book is the result of that experience.
Somehow, I’ve found myself reading books about writing this past year. I read Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing last month and am just about to finish listening to Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I cannot help but compare them, and I find this one better than Bradbury’s, but not so helpful (or entertaining) as King’s
Atwood clearly gave a lot of thought into the lecture series and she references many writers and books in a range of genres, though she does tend to rely most on classics / literary fiction and poetry. She does have some very interesting points to make, and questions to ask. For example, this excerpt:
In what ways, if any, does talent set you apart? Does it exempt you from the duties and responsibilities expected of others? Or does it load you up with even more duties and responsibilities, but of a different kind? Are you to be a detached observer…? Or ought you to be a dedicated spokesperson for the downtrodden of this earth…?
However, the style seemed stilted and detached. Dryly academic. I found myself anxious for her to get her point made and move on.
Alternate or Subtitle: A Writer on Writing
Atwood was asked to give the Empson lectures at Cambridge University in 2000. The series of six presentations were intended for scholars, students and the general public. This book is the result of that experience.
Somehow, I’ve found myself reading books about writing this past year. I read Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing last month and am just about to finish listening to Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I cannot help but compare them, and I find this one better than Bradbury’s, but not so helpful (or entertaining) as King’s
Atwood clearly gave a lot of thought into the lecture series and she references many writers and books in a range of genres, though she does tend to rely most on classics / literary fiction and poetry. She does have some very interesting points to make, and questions to ask. For example, this excerpt:
In what ways, if any, does talent set you apart? Does it exempt you from the duties and responsibilities expected of others? Or does it load you up with even more duties and responsibilities, but of a different kind? Are you to be a detached observer…? Or ought you to be a dedicated spokesperson for the downtrodden of this earth…?
However, the style seemed stilted and detached. Dryly academic. I found myself anxious for her to get her point made and move on.