Review by Shellie for: In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination (Audio) ~ by Margaret Atwood (read by the author and Susan Denaker)
An intriguing literary critique and more, by Margaret Atwood, based around science fiction. It’s for book lovers as well as fans of the author and the genre.
About: This audio version of In Other Worlds is a catalog of Margaret Atwood’s relationship with science fiction and contains a number of her unpublished lectures including those titled “Flying Rabbits”, “Dire Cartographies”, and “Burning Bushes”. In the lectures she gives examples of the books which are important to her and her perspective around science fiction and more – how each book she describes affected her development, its place in history, and how it helped to create the genre as we see it today. Also included are her personal, respectable, and well thought out definitions for the sub and overlapping genres within the broad scope of speculative literature and science fiction. At the end of the book are two short stories written by the author and read by Susan Deneaker.
Thoughts: I devoured this short read/listen, since I adore anything sci-fi and books about books. It was a complete pleasure for me. Atwood has some intriguing ideas about what the genre of science fiction is all about, especially for me considering my obsession with defining genres. That Atwood goes into depth was helpful since I learned many things from this book, which for me is what it’s all about. I now have other ways of referencing and categorizing a book.
I am certain that this is not a book for everyone, however, I would recommend it as a must read for any serious science fiction geek. It’s also good for the reference shelf since it contains loads of information on classics, and of course those interesting “speculative” genre definitions that she has provided. In my opinion it’s a great listen. I will be purchasing a paper copy for my personal library. I give this terrific nonfiction book - a big 4 stars.
In Other Worlds - SF and the Human Imagination; Edition: Unabridged; read by Margaret Atwood and Susan Denaker; 8 hours, 28 minutes; Oct 2011; Signal.
Bio: Born in Ottawa in 1939, she grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She got an undergraduate degree from University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College. Atwood writes poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction. Some of her novels include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), The Blind Assassin (Booker Prize 2000), Oryx and Crake (2003), and The Year of the Flood (2009). For more info go to her website - http://www.margaretatwood.ca/ and/or follow her on twitter where she has over 100,000 readers https://twitter.com/#!/MargaretAtwood
This is my last catch up book review for those books completed in 2011. Yee ha! It will be included in a number of challenges for that year.
Have a great Saturday.
2 comments:
This one sounds intriguing, but it doesn't seem to be a novel, which was what I'd been expecting. I do love Atwood, however, so I might have to explore it further.
Laurel -
I think you would enjoy this. She is such an intelligent and articulate woman.
I borrowed this from the local library, perhaps yours has a copy? I recommend it in audio.
I will look out for your thoughts around it.
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