Margaret Atwood

And knock, knock, knock, there would be the light bulb. But after telling us about that, he then took us into the vestibule and said, want to change some dollars? Anyway, everything was sort of underneath. So we went in search of Kafka at that time in Prague, trying to find Kafka, because I'm a big fan of Kafka, and couldn't find any Kafka things.

And knock, knock, knock, there would be the light bulb. But after telling us about that, he then took us into the vestibule and said, want to change some dollars? Anyway, everything was sort of underneath. So we went in search of Kafka at that time in Prague, trying to find Kafka, because I'm a big fan of Kafka, and couldn't find any Kafka things.

Graham actually went to his addresses trying to find Kafka, knock on the door, Kafka, no, no, no, no, no, Kafka, no, goodbye, slam. So very verboten Kafka at that time. We then went back in 89. And already there were Kafka handkerchiefs, Kafka playing cards, Kafka tchutchkas were already beginning to appear. And then I went back a little bit later and it was full-blown Kafka. You couldn't...

Graham actually went to his addresses trying to find Kafka, knock on the door, Kafka, no, no, no, no, no, Kafka, no, goodbye, slam. So very verboten Kafka at that time. We then went back in 89. And already there were Kafka handkerchiefs, Kafka playing cards, Kafka tchutchkas were already beginning to appear. And then I went back a little bit later and it was full-blown Kafka. You couldn't...

You sort of couldn't avoid Kafka. There's a statue, there's an award. I've got the award. I've got the Kafka award. I was thrilled. And in the hotel where I was staying, they had a whole sort of display of sort of Kafka's pencil, Kafka's typewriter, Kafka's chewing gum, you know, just anything that they could collect was in there. So this is a story about two things.

You sort of couldn't avoid Kafka. There's a statue, there's an award. I've got the award. I've got the Kafka award. I was thrilled. And in the hotel where I was staying, they had a whole sort of display of sort of Kafka's pencil, Kafka's typewriter, Kafka's chewing gum, you know, just anything that they could collect was in there. So this is a story about two things.

Number one, about how some literary figures get repressed under certain kinds of regimes. Why Kafka? Because he wrote stories about impenetrable bureaucracies, the justice of which could not be figured out. And that was a bit too close to the bone, I suppose. And the other part of the story is how something can disappear, but then reappear.

Number one, about how some literary figures get repressed under certain kinds of regimes. Why Kafka? Because he wrote stories about impenetrable bureaucracies, the justice of which could not be figured out. And that was a bit too close to the bone, I suppose. And the other part of the story is how something can disappear, but then reappear.

How you can be a villain for one regime and a hero for the next. And that can work both ways.

How you can be a villain for one regime and a hero for the next. And that can work both ways.

Okay, so the answer to that question is, what questions was I attempting to answer? And remember when I start writing it, beginning of the 80s when there's already a backlash against a lot of the stuff that had been happening in the 60s and 70s. And things do tend to go that way.

Okay, so the answer to that question is, what questions was I attempting to answer? And remember when I start writing it, beginning of the 80s when there's already a backlash against a lot of the stuff that had been happening in the 60s and 70s. And things do tend to go that way.

So you have 10 or 15 years of a certain period, and then you have a pushback against it by people who didn't like it when it was happening. So Joan Didion predicted it. She said, some of these people are not happy. This is not their idea of how things should go. And that also can work both ways, because any group over 200 people is almost bound to have a schism.

So you have 10 or 15 years of a certain period, and then you have a pushback against it by people who didn't like it when it was happening. So Joan Didion predicted it. She said, some of these people are not happy. This is not their idea of how things should go. And that also can work both ways, because any group over 200 people is almost bound to have a schism.

Yeah, well, it's not my rule. I didn't make it up. So, 1980, you start getting the pushback, and you start getting the political organization of the religious right. And they were already saying things like women should belong in the home. And I was wondering, okay, so they're not in the home.

Yeah, well, it's not my rule. I didn't make it up. So, 1980, you start getting the pushback, and you start getting the political organization of the religious right. And they were already saying things like women should belong in the home. And I was wondering, okay, so they're not in the home.

They're out there running around like mice and opening bank accounts and having jobs and all this uppity stuff that they're doing. How are you going to get them back into the home if you decide that's where they ought to be? Well, easy peasy, you cut off their funds. We had invented credit cards by that time. And I would suggest that we retain the use of cash money.

They're out there running around like mice and opening bank accounts and having jobs and all this uppity stuff that they're doing. How are you going to get them back into the home if you decide that's where they ought to be? Well, easy peasy, you cut off their funds. We had invented credit cards by that time. And I would suggest that we retain the use of cash money.

Not for everything, but just in case. Some negotiable currency that isn't controlled by other people might be a good idea. Yeah, so I started writing it then in answer to the question, if America were to have a totalitarian government, what kind would it be? And under what flag, as it were, would it fly?

Not for everything, but just in case. Some negotiable currency that isn't controlled by other people might be a good idea. Yeah, so I started writing it then in answer to the question, if America were to have a totalitarian government, what kind would it be? And under what flag, as it were, would it fly?