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. ( )

Plus a half star. It would have been fabulous to be at her lectures on which the book was based. The philosophy was less convincing on the page but the moments of personal experience were touching. ( )

Very interesting, learned, but easy to read and funny at times. I’d recommend this to anyone who habitually reads.

Atwood opens quite innocuously with a memoir and description of the literary scene in mid-20th C Canada. There’s an interesting discussion of the relationship between the author and the reader (pretty much like in Stephen King’s Misery) and also of the writer’s relationship with themselves (as in The Dark Half). She also discusses the religious aspects of writing. The final chapter is actually rather profound.

So a book about the art of writing is also itself a work of art. Bloody typical of Atwood to do something like that. ( )

A wide-ranging, perceptive and sometimes hilarious look at becoming a writer, being a writer, wrestling with the art and commerce of writing and more. If you have thought it as a writer, Atwood has -- and likely she captures it better on paper. If you've done it (even the scary or shameful stuff) -- ditto. And if you've navigated, or wanted to, the scary gap between creation and commerce, Atwood can pen BTDT in a way that will still break your heart. ( )

Plus a half star. It would have been fabulous to be at her lectures on which the book was based. The philosophy was less convincing on the page but the moments of personal experience were touching. ( )