Curious Pursuits is a collection of the ‘occasional writing’ of Margaret Atwood — essays, reviews, talks and introductions to books. Such rehashes often remind one of Juvenal’s adage that ‘twice-cooked cabbage is death’: it was, indeed, only as a fan of Margaret Atwood’s that I wanted to review this book at all, since it would give an excuse to write about her novels.
It turns out, however, to be hugely enjoyable in its own right. Curious Pursuits reminds one that Atwood is a superbly funny (as well as serious) writer: her wit is winningly relaxed and genial as well as sharp.
It is odd how often her humour is dis- regarded, particularly when she is routinely read in relation to the Women’s Movement. At the end of the Eighties, I found myself — after incautiously admitting in an examiners’ meeting that I had read all of her novels to date — marking batches of Tripos theses on Atwood.
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