- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (Mar 23 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0771008724
- ISBN-13: 978-0771008726
- Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 2 x 21.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 381 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#111,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Canadian
- #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Canadian > History & Criticism
- #77 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Canadian > Classics
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Amazon.ca
Published in 1972, Margaret Atwood's Survival helped to change the face of Canadian literature. Atwood, already an award-winning poet and an acclaimed novelist, here redefined what made the country's literature unique in a landscape dominated by its British and American counterparts. At the heart of Survival is the question, "Is there really something that can be called Canadian literature?"
At the time of its publication, Survival was both an enormous financial success, selling over 30,000 copies in its first year in print, and enormously controversial, fuelling debates about CanLit that have since become central to Canadian studies. It is a passionate and decidedly nationalistic look at what Atwood perceived as the struggle of the country's writers to survive the dominance of literatures from elsewhere. She argues that there is indeed a distinct Canadian literature, with its own preoccupations, themes, and ideas specific to its history, geopolitics, and landscape. Long after its publication, Survival makes for insightful and provocative reading. --Jeffrey Canton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
It’s a terrific book, enraging, alive–and I wish someone would give it to every continentalist in the Cabinet and every smug academic in all the cosy common rooms across this colonized land.”
–Christina Newman, Maclean’s
“Survival is a fine example of what happens when a first-rate intelligence takes on a task usually carried out by literary morons.”
–George Woodcock, Vancouver Sun
“…the most important book that has come out of this country.”
–Phyllis Grosskurth, Globe and Mail
–Christina Newman, Maclean’s
“Survival is a fine example of what happens when a first-rate intelligence takes on a task usually carried out by literary morons.”
–George Woodcock, Vancouver Sun
“…the most important book that has come out of this country.”
–Phyllis Grosskurth, Globe and Mail
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Obsolete,
By
This review is from: Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (Paperback)
Hi, I bought this book because the professor of my Canadian Literature class required it. It was interesting at the time and really gave me an interesting perspective of Canadian Literature.The arguments put forward in this book, via essays and discussion, can be summed up in a simple comparison: USA is the novel; Canada is the short story. Furthermore, this book was published first in 1972 and may serve well as an interesting snapshot of Canadian Literature to that date -- but any study of Canadian Literature now should obviously include blogging, journalism, social media, and of course everything else published in this country in the last 40 years.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A useful way to look at Canadian literature,
By sroney@bigfoot.com Stephen K. Roney (Asan, Korea) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (Paperback)
Atwood's Survival was a seminal book for me back in the 1970's. Her theory that there are national themes in literature is very useful for studying cultures generally. The rap on the book is that she has not done a thorough, scholarly job of research and tends to favour references to books written by her friends or published by her publisher. I think this is unfair. She is a working writer, not an academic, and she herself notes the book's scholarly limitations. The real fun is in taking the book's theses and running with them yourself.Atwood sees the essential Canadian literary theme as the survival in the title: the survival of winter, imposed on us as Canadians by our geography and climate. A very thought-provoking book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A useful way to look at Canadian literature,
By sroney@bigfoot.com Stephen K. Roney - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (Paperback)
Atwood's Survival was a seminal book for me back in the 1970's. Her theory that there are national themes in literature is very useful for studying cultures generally. The rap on the book is that she has not done a thorough, scholarly job of research and tends to favour references to books written by her friends or published by her publisher. I think this is unfair. She is a working writer, not an academic, and she herself notes the book's scholarly limitations. The real fun is in taking the book's theses and running with them yourself.Atwood sees the essential Canadian literary theme as the survival in the title: the survival of winter, imposed on us as Canadians by our geography and climate. A very thought-provoking book. 2 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprised by the shortage of reviews,
By Mobs - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (Paperback)
This book was published in 1972. I find it odd there there is only one review (preceeding my comment). Surely, the audience for whom it was intended might have something to say about the book.
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