This is a new collection of commentary, articles, talks and reviews all of which are, exactly as one might expect, erudite, witty and thoughtful. It’s no surprise that Margaret Atwood can write well about almost anything!

The book is divided into five sections running from 2004 to 2021. The title is clearly a nod to Fahrenheit 451 and the modern tendency to cancel culture and reject history and heritage uncritically. As she says, one can be angry about something without behaving angrily by which she means overreacting, raging and acting without thinking! It’s a good point.

She comes across as intelligently read, well informed and thoughtful and she has a nice way of overturning a reader’s expectations or making that sharp point which unravels the status quo.

She writes about her own books, looking at how The Handmaids Tale has been treated by history and how The Testaments seems already to have had some prophetic insights.

I like the article about an alien’s view of earthlings. According to Atwood, men do not see socks they dropped on the floor because they are hunters and attuned to movement whereas women who are gatherers see them as they might see a clump of mushrooms growing on the forest floor! Mentioning women of course is dangerous ground, given the pounding of Atwood following the simple retweet of an article which asked why women could not simply be called ‘women’ any more but had to be people with bits of a certain kind. To assume from one retweet that she is transphobic given the volume of her work and its focuses was more than a bit daft and she comes over in this volume as liberal, progressive and often radical.

It’s a good book to dip into, to find out more about books and people you might have missed, and to explore new ways of thinking about the messed up world and society which so many of us take for granted.

Reading this book has made me want to reread some of Margaret Atwood’s novels again. I was luckily enough to go to one of her talks when she was in Oxford promoting hagseed and I recognise the wit she showed then, in these essays. So many were about incredibly important topics, such as climate change and women’s rights and were handled in a sensitive, intellectual but accessible and interesting way.

The essays/obituaries concerning other authors inspired me to look into their work. I like coming away from a book with other books to read.

I felt the most touching and memorably essays were the personal ones, mainly about her husband. If anything I wish there were more of these.

This is the first time I've read a collection of essays and it was fascinating. Only recently have I become an avid Atwood fan so I was keen to get to know her better, and hearing more about her workings on Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace was very satisfying.
It was so interesting hearing more about her opinions and influence.
This is definitely a book I'll refer back to

A collection of non-fiction articles, including some more personal than others. All are well argued and some are interesting. I prefer her novels.

Have you read much Margaret Atwood?
You really should; she's very good.
She wrote Alias Grace and The Handmaid's Tale,
She's an 82-year-old, Canadian, white female
Twice now, she's won the Booker Prize.
These days, she's healthy, wealthy and wise.

This is a book of essays from the past twenty odd years,
She argues her points and outlines her fears.
Climate change comes up again and again,
As does Anne of Green Gables and the rights of women,
What an amazing brain: thank God she's around.
Let all us hope some solutions can be found.

Slightly regret requesting this one because honestly what do *I* have to add to the praise heaped on Margaret Atwood!? She's a gem, and this miscellany is one to dip into, taking your time to savour every word.

I had high expectations for this book of essays by Margaret Atwood, and it met every one. Written in a flowing style, covering a rich subject matter and deeply thought provoking, these essays will challenge you and really make you reconsider the world around you.

Rich in the trademark Atwood wit, it is an eclectic mixture of book reviews, lectures and essays and each one is rich in content, moving smoothly between interlinked ideas to produce something truly pleasurable to read. This is not a book to be read passively; rather it is to be actively engaged with, met head on and taken hold of. This lady knows an awful lot of stuff about an awful lot of things and I feel privileged to have been able to have a peek into her mind via these wonderful essays.

I recommend this book to all Margaret Atwood fans, but you don’t need to be a fan of her fiction to enjoy this book. Perhaps you want to read about the thoughts and ideas of a very wise lady, perhaps have your ideas challenged or possibly verified, or maybe just be entertained by someone who knows what they are talking about. There is something in this book for everyone, so if you enjoy a diverse range of non fiction, you’ll very likely enjoy this book.

With thanks to Netgalley and Vintage for providing an advance review copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

'Burning Questions' is a compilation of Margaret Attwood's essays and speeches from 2004-2021. In her introduction she talks about how the different pieces are of their time, but they range broadly over many different topics. These include heavily researched investigations into specific areas, to Attwood's meditations on her own experience. I happened to prefer the more personal essays, or those where she brings the personal into her discussion, such as when she talks about conferring advice on others, but the others remain very interesting and heavily quotable. For example "a society without the arts would have broken its mirror and cut out its heart. It would no longer be what we now recognise as human." As a result, this is a book you can dip into, or read wholesale. This would make a great book for a gift.

A thought provoking read - an inside look into the mind of of Atwood. Can't wait to get a finished to reread it just leaves you thinking long after reading.

A wise, witty, sharply observed collection from a shining writer, one of the true greats. Savour this: it's a pleasure to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It has been published in March 2022.

"Burning Questions" by Margaret Atwood was a delight to read!
It felt almost like I was having a long, lovely chat with an old friend, in front of a cup of tea.
I particularly enjoyed the autobiographic bits, and the pieces where the author reveals the genesis of some of her most famous novels--"The Handmaid's Tale", "Oryx and Crake", "Alias Grace"...
I've always loved Margaret Atwood's fiction, and thanks to "Burning Questions", I found out that I love her essays as well.
I definitely need to catch up and check out her first two collections of non-fiction!

This is a mixed collection and it was interesting to read her take essays for a more complete view, as have only read the HMT and testaments, I did enjoy it, it was a book that I had to read a bit and then go back and read more and just absorb it. But now that I have read it, think I will be sticking to her fiction.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

I loved this collection of essays by Margaret Attwood. They span a period of almost two decades but even the oldest essays still have resonance today. She covers a wide range of subjects but mainly focuses on the art of writing including Canadian writers and the environment. Many of the essays were originally given as lectures and this makes them very easy to read. She writes about the things that she loves or that interest her and this shines through her writing. It’s a great book to dip in and out of. I read an essay a day during my lunch breaks and often found myself thinking about what I had read later that day.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for a chance to read this ARC

Another fantastic collection from Margaret Atwood. This is witty, erudite, wise, wide-ranging and thought-provoking. I liked the chronological presentation - with pieces written over a twenty-year period, it helped give each piece context and, I felt, gave the book an organic feel.

As with any collection of essays, not every piece will appeal equally to every reader, but even as someone who generally prefers fiction and long-form, I have no hesitation in giving this five stars - it earns every one of them.

In conclusion, I want to be Margaret Atwood when I grow up.

A very interesting and thought provoking read for any Margaret Atwood fan, learnt something new about my favourite books too

I really didn't want to rush this book - I wanted to give time and thought to the wealth of issues raised, questions asked and ideas suggested. From human rights viewed from the perspective of extra-terrestrials, to feminism, to the environment; it is quite a feat to fit everything she discusses into one book. As well as putting into context her own literature, its influences and relevance, she reflects on the impactful work of other writers- from Carson to Le Guin. At times her writing is sophisticated and analytical, at others it is colloquial and incredibly human, both of which are insightful. Atwood's wit and intelligence runs throughout, making it an entertaining read.

Burning Questions is a collection of Margaret Atwood's non-fiction pieces. The ones I enjoyed were the more personal.

Atwood is one of my favourite writers so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of this. The book is very long for a collection of essays and I did struggle to get through the final pages. I liked the range of topics on offer but especially enjoyed the essays about book, other writers and the author’s own writing life. This is a solid read.

What is really nice about this book is that you can agree to disagree with some or even all of the essays but still enjoy all of Margaret Atwood's writing. I am still making my way through the book as it is not a book that I feel I can do justice to by reading straight through.

There is no doubt that the lady has strong views on so many things, after all she has been around for a while mixing in the many strata of society. Not my favourite book of hers but certainly worth reading and I feel it should be widely read for its insights.

A collection of snapshots of Atwoods thoughts in time this is an interesting, but ultimately, I’m not sure entirely necessary collection of writing. Her clarity of though can’t be denied, perhaps this wasn’t just at the right time for this reader.