Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth is a non-fiction book written by Margaret Atwood, about the nature of debt, for the 2008 Massey Lectures. Each of the book's five chapters was delivered as a one hour lecture in a different Canadian city, beginning in St. John's, Newfoundland, on October 12 and ending in Toronto on November 1. The lectures were broadcast on CBC Radio One's Ideas November 10–14. The book was published by House of Anansi Press, both in paperback and in a limited edition hardcover.
The lectures and book had been originally scheduled for 2009, but were moved up to 2008 to avoid conflicting with Atwood's forthcoming novel after the latter book was delayed by its publisher. The content examines borrowing and lending from financial, psychological, theological, literary, and ecological points of view. Its release coincided with extensive media coverage of the recent financial crisis which led numerous critics to comment on the book's timeliness. In the Canadian market, the book peaked at #1 on the The Globe and Mail bestseller list on October 25 and out-sold all previous Massey Lecture books. Critics found the book well-researched, thought-provoking, and humorous. Various reviewers found the discussions on the non-monetary aspects of debt to be the better parts of the book, while some critics identified the sections on ecological debt as the worse parts of the book.
Atwood's Massey Lectures have been adapted as a 2012 documentary Payback, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.
Read more about Payback: Debt And The Shadow Side Of Wealth: Background, Synopsis, Publication and Sales, Critical Response
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