Alex Mandarino

Alex Mandarino asked Margaret Atwood:

What's your stance in the division between literature and genre literature? Do you reckon such division exists and if so, why?

Margaret Atwood Hello: There are good books and the other kind. Good books exist in any and all "genres." So do the other kind. I think it's partly a matter of "frame" -- what it says the thing is on the cover – which shapes the expectations of the reader. In the 50s, when paperbacks were newish, you could walk into the corner drugstore and pick up a cheap edition on a classic with a sleazy cover on it. I bet a lot of people got introduced to literature that way!

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Danny Miller

Danny Miller asked Margaret Atwood:

Margaret, To take just two of your Dystopian worlds--that of The Handmaid's Tale and that of the MaddAddam trilogy--each holds a place of exile, whether it's the Pleeblands or the Colonies. Do you think this (perhaps post-colonialist) trait is necessary for Dystopian fiction? What other traits are? A caste-system, surely, but what are less obvious elements that you think make up a Dystopian society?

Anushka Aritri

Anushka Aritri asked Margaret Atwood:

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A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Margaret Atwood:

How would you describe your " genre"?I struggle in stating a genre for my own first novel, and by searching I realise I do not know what genre your books, or my other favourite Salman Rushdie's books are. I read most of your and his novels. My two most favourite books of yours are " Cat's Eye" , " Blind Assassin" and " Penelopiad" What genre are they in your opinion? Lucie

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Margaret Atwood

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