Margaret Atwood

I'd actually started making notes on it in 1981, but it took me a while to actually work up to writing it because it was somewhat nutty, or such was the ambience at the time. So there I was in West Berlin, and because we weren't German, we could go to East Berlin more easily than Germans could. And we could also go to Czechoslovakia, which we did, and we went to Poland.

I'd actually started making notes on it in 1981, but it took me a while to actually work up to writing it because it was somewhat nutty, or such was the ambience at the time. So there I was in West Berlin, and because we weren't German, we could go to East Berlin more easily than Germans could. And we could also go to Czechoslovakia, which we did, and we went to Poland.

So we had experiences of three Iron Curtain countries at the time, and they were somewhat different. The East Germans, I think, were sewed up the tightest of anybody. And we now know from the Stasi files that indeed there were a lot of informants, so people were pretty careful about what they would say. In Czechoslovakia, we could talk to people, but only in open spaces.

So we had experiences of three Iron Curtain countries at the time, and they were somewhat different. The East Germans, I think, were sewed up the tightest of anybody. And we now know from the Stasi files that indeed there were a lot of informants, so people were pretty careful about what they would say. In Czechoslovakia, we could talk to people, but only in open spaces.

So you couldn't have a frank conversation in a building or a car, because people just assumed it was bugged. In Poland, it was already pretty wide open in 1994. So Poland has had lots of experiences of people marching across them and occupying them. Some of those experiences for them were pretty recent. the general populace was not paying a lot of attention to what the rules were.

So you couldn't have a frank conversation in a building or a car, because people just assumed it was bugged. In Poland, it was already pretty wide open in 1994. So Poland has had lots of experiences of people marching across them and occupying them. Some of those experiences for them were pretty recent. the general populace was not paying a lot of attention to what the rules were.

So a taxi driver drove up and he said, dollars? And we said, zlotys? And he drove away. Once that starts happening, once you start preferring somebody else's currency, you know that the government is losing some authority. Anyway, very interesting to be there at that time.

So a taxi driver drove up and he said, dollars? And we said, zlotys? And he drove away. Once that starts happening, once you start preferring somebody else's currency, you know that the government is losing some authority. Anyway, very interesting to be there at that time.

And I think some of the stuff that's been going on recently is that the people doing that stuff are too young to remember any of that. They don't know what a real totalitarianism is like, and they're not paying attention to the kinds of steps that lead to it. You know, how you get one of these things going, how you get buy-in What sort of propaganda is likely to be put out there to begin with?

And I think some of the stuff that's been going on recently is that the people doing that stuff are too young to remember any of that. They don't know what a real totalitarianism is like, and they're not paying attention to the kinds of steps that lead to it. You know, how you get one of these things going, how you get buy-in What sort of propaganda is likely to be put out there to begin with?

And you never begin by saying, I'm going to be a tyrannous dictator and I'm going to ruin your life. You don't start out that way. You start out by saying, I'm going to make things so much better. And you want that to happen, don't you, Ezra? Because you're a good person. But first we have to get rid of those people because they're not good people.

And you never begin by saying, I'm going to be a tyrannous dictator and I'm going to ruin your life. You don't start out that way. You start out by saying, I'm going to make things so much better. And you want that to happen, don't you, Ezra? Because you're a good person. But first we have to get rid of those people because they're not good people.

Well, this is one of the things from East Berlin. And after I'd written The Handmaid's Tale, it got made into a movie. And we launched that movie in Berlin just as the wall was coming down. And we launched it twice. We launched it in West Berlin.

Well, this is one of the things from East Berlin. And after I'd written The Handmaid's Tale, it got made into a movie. And we launched that movie in Berlin just as the wall was coming down. And we launched it twice. We launched it in West Berlin.

And the after party was talking about the acting, talking about the set design, talking about the usual things you talk about in movies when there aren't any other considerations. You're talking about how good a movie is it. Are you not? And then we went across to East Berlin and we launched it there and it was packed.

And the after party was talking about the acting, talking about the set design, talking about the usual things you talk about in movies when there aren't any other considerations. You're talking about how good a movie is it. Are you not? And then we went across to East Berlin and we launched it there and it was packed.

People watched it very intently and threw bouquets up on the stage afterwards and said, this was our life. And they didn't mean the outfits. They meant you couldn't talk to anybody because you didn't know if they were spying on you. So it was that sort of eerie feeling of things look normal, but who is really actually who? Prague was similar.

People watched it very intently and threw bouquets up on the stage afterwards and said, this was our life. And they didn't mean the outfits. They meant you couldn't talk to anybody because you didn't know if they were spying on you. So it was that sort of eerie feeling of things look normal, but who is really actually who? Prague was similar.

Similarly, rather shut down, and similarly, you didn't know just who was listening in. But when we got checked into our room in the hotel, the bellman said, pointed to the chandelier and put his finger to his lips. In other words, that's bugged. Whenever we wanted anything in the hotel room, we would just stand under the chandelier and say, I wonder why they haven't changed that light bulb?

Similarly, rather shut down, and similarly, you didn't know just who was listening in. But when we got checked into our room in the hotel, the bellman said, pointed to the chandelier and put his finger to his lips. In other words, that's bugged. Whenever we wanted anything in the hotel room, we would just stand under the chandelier and say, I wonder why they haven't changed that light bulb?