Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
Encyclopedia
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.
's Ideas
and published by the House of Anansi Press
. When she finally agreed, she chose her subject to be sociobiology of literary criticism, and specifically how an author's gender and age affects critical reception. However, after delivering lectures at Oxford University and Cambridge University on similar topics she re-considered her choice. She began thinking of 'debt' as a topic after writing "Letter to America" for The Globe and Mail
in March 2003 (later reprinted in The Nation
) regarding the pending invasion of Iraq and asking whether Americans understood the debt to which they were committing.
Atwood was scheduled to release her new novel in fall 2008 and deliver the Massey Lectures in fall 2009. At the insistence of Atwood's American editor at Doubleday, her Canadian and British editors and agents agreed in January 2008 to postpone the release of her novel by one year to avoid competing with the US Presidential election for attention. The people organizing the Massey Lectures, Sarah McLachlan of House of Anansi Press, John Fraser
of Massey College
, and Bernie Lucht of CBC's Ideas, discovered this re-scheduling via a newspaper article. They asked Atwood to deliver her lectures in fall 2008, meaning the text would be due in June. She agreed on condition of Massey College providing research and technical assistance. The text was written between late January and June 2008, during which Atwood took time for two vacations (birding in Cuba and in France). The original title was to be Debt but Scott Griffin
, owner of House of Anansi Press, convinced Atwood to change it to something less depressing.
that suggests a sense of fairness may be a genetic trait shared with other primates, and a study by Robert Axelrod
which illustrates, given a level playing field, that the tit-for-tat strategy (or 'Do unto others as they have done onto you' strategy) was the most superior strategy in game theory. Debt and borrowing mechanisms from ancient and biblical societies are compared, including provisions from the Code of Hammurabi
, Ancient Egyptians, and the Greco-Roman mythologies
.
The second part, Debt and Sin, explores the theological side, including moral or ethical characteristics attributed to debtors and creditors by society and religion. Debt, like certain vices, such as cigarette-smoking, have experienced times when it was considered sinful, and other times fashionable. Biblical references, like the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord's Prayer
, and sin-eating, are examined. The growth of debt is linked to the growth of the written media with the relationship symbolized by the Faustian contract
with the devil.
The third part, Debt as Plot, examines the "Debtor" game from Eric Berne
's Games People Play
and its derivative "Try and Collect". Debt as a motif and theme is explained, especially in 19th century literature, with examples from "The Devil and Tom Walker
", Wuthering Heights
, Vanity Fair, Madame Bovary
, House of Mirth, and The Mill on the Floss
. Atwood posits a theory that Charles Dickens
' Ebenezer Scrooge
is the reverse character of Christopher Marlowe
's Doctor Faustus
; although Scrooge is rich, he is unwilling to spend his money and is living miserably before he is saved., while Doctor Faustus is rich, happy, and generous but ends in hell.
The fourth part, The Shadow Side, looks at what happens to debtors and creditors when debts are not re-paid. Some debts that are a matter of honour to which the debtor must repay by an equivalent value or creditor must either forgive or extract revenge. Debts to society, after committing crimes, are paid through vengeance-based imprisonment. The United Kingdom had debtors' prison for those who could not pay, but this was abolished for economic reasons as it prevented labourers from working and had a burdensome cost of operation. Other societies used the services of their family members or themselves as collateral. Sometimes the debtors overthrew the creditors, like King Philip IV of France
against the Knights Templar
, or the Ugandans against the Asians
. Atwood applies the trickle-down economics
to debt and examines the psychology side through the Jungian Shadow
.
In the final part, titled Payback, Atwood examines ecological debt. She recounts the journey of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
but placed in a modern setting. The modern-day Scrooge is visited by the spirits of Earth Day
. In the past Scrooge witnesses debts to nature being repaid through animal and human sacrifices and through pestilence in over-crowded or unsustainable populations. In the present Scrooge witnesses current unsustainable practices, over-fishing and deforestation, creating a debt to nature being repaid through effects on the climate and impacts on people. Finally, in the future, Scrooge is shown two versions: one, an eco-friendly human society balanced with environmental systems, and the other, a dystopian future with a disaster affecting the fuel or food resources in such a way that hyperinflation sets in and renders money useless.
, on October 12. The second lecture took place in Vancouver
on the 15th, followed by Winnipeg
on the 17th, Montreal
on the 20th, and ending on November 1 in Toronto
. The series was recorded then aired on CBC Radio One
's Ideas
between November 10 and 14. At each event Atwood fielded questions from the audience and participated in book signings.
Payback entered The Globe and Mail
bestseller list at #6 and peaked at #1 on October 25. It became the best selling Massey Lecture book to date and was in its fourth printing by the end of November. Excerpts were printed in The Times
and the Financial Times
. In April 2009, it was a finalist for the annual National Business Book Award and won a silver medal in the Business Ethics category of the Axiom Business Book Awards. That same month, the National Film Board of Canada
acquired the film rights, with plans to adapt Payback as a feature-length documentary. They announced the involvement of Jennifer Baichwal as director and Ravida Din as producer. In June 2009, the book was awarded a Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Almost all reviewers commented upon the timeliness of the book's release as the magnitude and causes of the most recent financial crisis were becoming apparent. Some reviewers also commented upon the timeliness of her previous books, like her novel in which society is devastated by a genetically engineered virus, Oryx and Crake
, which coincided with the SARS
outbreak. Playing off this theme Canadian magazine The Walrus
, at a fund-raiser gala for its charitable foundation, auctioned a crystal decanter with five predictions written by Atwood sealed inside. Journalist Rebecca Eckler
was the winning bidder and wrote about the predictions, which include the diminished use of fabric softener
and the rise in use of industrial hemp
, in an article for Maclean's
magazine.
wrote that the book was "delightfully engaging, smart, funny, [and] clever". Canadian writer Charles Foran
called the book "serious adult fun" that "displays some of the energy of a lively dinner party, one replete with anecdotes and opinions, witticisms and barbs". The book's most entertaining parts are discussions on non-monetary debts and debts portrayed in literature. Regarding the speeches, the reviewer for The Montreal Gazette
wrote: "Her delivery, as usual, was smooth, relentlessly paced, but with precise pauses for the frequent, much-appreciated laugh lines." John N. Gray, in The New York Review of Books
, wrote that "Atwood has combined rigorous analysis, wide-ranging erudition, and a beguilingly playful imagination". The Library Journal
recommended the book for all libraries.
Negative reviews came from Salon.com
and The Scotsman
. Louis Bayard of Salon.com disagreed with the delivery of the final chapter, on ecological debt, writing that Atwood "forsakes artistic engagement for ideological reflex". William Skidelsky in The Guardian
agreed that the chapter was "by no means the highlight of the book". Allan Massie
, reviewing for The Scotsman, could not find a coherent argument being presented and found her writing style "veering uncomfortably between the academic and the jokily colloquial, [is] tiresome, [and] some of her writing is pretentious, much obvious and platitudinous". The reviewers in Salon.com and The Scotsman, as well as The Economist, were all uncomfortable with Atwood not distinguishing or contrasting 'good' and 'bad
' debt.
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, about the nature of debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, for the 2008 Massey Lectures
Massey Lectures
The Massey Lectures are an annual week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a noted scholar. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
. 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
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, on October 12 and ending in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on November 1. The lectures were broadcast on CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
's Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
November 10–14. The book was published by House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction....
, 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
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
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.
Background
Toronto-based author Margaret Atwood was asked several times over numerous years to deliver a Massey Lecture, which would be broadcast over the radio on CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
's Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
and published by the House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction....
. When she finally agreed, she chose her subject to be sociobiology of literary criticism, and specifically how an author's gender and age affects critical reception. However, after delivering lectures at Oxford University and Cambridge University on similar topics she re-considered her choice. She began thinking of 'debt' as a topic after writing "Letter to America" for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
in March 2003 (later reprinted in The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
) regarding the pending invasion of Iraq and asking whether Americans understood the debt to which they were committing.
Atwood was scheduled to release her new novel in fall 2008 and deliver the Massey Lectures in fall 2009. At the insistence of Atwood's American editor at Doubleday, her Canadian and British editors and agents agreed in January 2008 to postpone the release of her novel by one year to avoid competing with the US Presidential election for attention. The people organizing the Massey Lectures, Sarah McLachlan of House of Anansi Press, John Fraser
John Fraser (journalist)
John Anderson Fraser, CM , is a Canadian journalist, author and academic who has served as Master of Massey College of the University of Toronto since 1995. As a journalist, Fraser has received multiple national awards and chaired the Canadian Journalism Foundation until 2008. He teaches a course...
of Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
, and Bernie Lucht of CBC's Ideas, discovered this re-scheduling via a newspaper article. They asked Atwood to deliver her lectures in fall 2008, meaning the text would be due in June. She agreed on condition of Massey College providing research and technical assistance. The text was written between late January and June 2008, during which Atwood took time for two vacations (birding in Cuba and in France). The original title was to be Debt but Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist best known for founding the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world's most generous poetry awards in 2000. Celebrating its tenth year in 2010, the Griffin Poetry Prize has become known as the most adventurous international literary award...
, owner of House of Anansi Press, convinced Atwood to change it to something less depressing.
Synopsis
The content is divided into five parts. The first part, Ancient Balances, considers psychological and historical aspects of debt. Atwood calls debt an imaginative human construct derived from a sense of need or greed and a sense of fairness in reciprocity and equivalent values. She cites a study by Frans de WaalFrans de Waal
Fransiscus Bernardus Maria de Waal, PhD , is a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is the Charles Howard Candler professor of Primate Behavior in the Emory University psychology department in Atlanta, Georgia, and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research...
that suggests a sense of fairness may be a genetic trait shared with other primates, and a study by Robert Axelrod
Robert Axelrod
Robert M. Axelrod is an American political scientist. He is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he has been since 1974. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, which has been cited in numerous articles...
which illustrates, given a level playing field, that the tit-for-tat strategy (or 'Do unto others as they have done onto you' strategy) was the most superior strategy in game theory. Debt and borrowing mechanisms from ancient and biblical societies are compared, including provisions from the Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1780 BC . It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay...
, Ancient Egyptians, and the Greco-Roman mythologies
Classical mythology
Classical mythology or Greco-Roman mythology is the cultural reception of myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Along with philosophy and political thought, mythology represents one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later Western culture.Classical mythology has provided...
.
The second part, Debt and Sin, explores the theological side, including moral or ethical characteristics attributed to debtors and creditors by society and religion. Debt, like certain vices, such as cigarette-smoking, have experienced times when it was considered sinful, and other times fashionable. Biblical references, like the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
, and sin-eating, are examined. The growth of debt is linked to the growth of the written media with the relationship symbolized by the Faustian contract
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
with the devil.
The third part, Debt as Plot, examines the "Debtor" game from Eric Berne
Eric Berne
Eric Berne was a Canadian-born psychiatrist best known as the creator of transactional analysis and the author of Games People Play.-Background and education:...
's Games People Play
Games People Play (book)
Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships is a 1964 bestselling book by psychiatrist Eric Berne. Since its publication it has sold more than five million copies. The book describes both functional and dysfunctional social interactions....
and its derivative "Try and Collect". Debt as a motif and theme is explained, especially in 19th century literature, with examples from "The Devil and Tom Walker
The Devil and Tom Walker
"The Devil and Tom Walker" a short story by Washington Irving that first appeared in his 1824 collection of stories titled Tales of a Traveller. It was part of the "Money-Diggers" portion....
", Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
, Vanity Fair, Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert's first published novel and is considered his masterpiece. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life...
, House of Mirth, and The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss
The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y...
. Atwood posits a theory that Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
is the reverse character of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's Doctor Faustus
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
; although Scrooge is rich, he is unwilling to spend his money and is living miserably before he is saved., while Doctor Faustus is rich, happy, and generous but ends in hell.
The fourth part, The Shadow Side, looks at what happens to debtors and creditors when debts are not re-paid. Some debts that are a matter of honour to which the debtor must repay by an equivalent value or creditor must either forgive or extract revenge. Debts to society, after committing crimes, are paid through vengeance-based imprisonment. The United Kingdom had debtors' prison for those who could not pay, but this was abolished for economic reasons as it prevented labourers from working and had a burdensome cost of operation. Other societies used the services of their family members or themselves as collateral. Sometimes the debtors overthrew the creditors, like King Philip IV of France
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
against the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, or the Ugandans against the Asians
Expulsion of Asians in Uganda in 1972
On 4 August 1972, the then President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave Uganda...
. Atwood applies the trickle-down economics
Trickle-down economics
"Trickle-down economics" and "the trickle-down theory" are terms used in United States politics to refer to the idea that tax breaks or other economic benefits provided by government to businesses and the wealthy will benefit poorer members of society by improving the economy as a whole...
to debt and examines the psychology side through the Jungian Shadow
Shadow (psychology)
In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. It is one of the three most recognizable archetypes, the others being the anima and animus and the persona...
.
In the final part, titled Payback, Atwood examines ecological debt. She recounts the journey of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
but placed in a modern setting. The modern-day Scrooge is visited by the spirits of Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
. In the past Scrooge witnesses debts to nature being repaid through animal and human sacrifices and through pestilence in over-crowded or unsustainable populations. In the present Scrooge witnesses current unsustainable practices, over-fishing and deforestation, creating a debt to nature being repaid through effects on the climate and impacts on people. Finally, in the future, Scrooge is shown two versions: one, an eco-friendly human society balanced with environmental systems, and the other, a dystopian future with a disaster affecting the fuel or food resources in such a way that hyperinflation sets in and renders money useless.
Publication and sales
The book was released in October 2008 as Atwood began the Massey lecture series in St. John's, NewfoundlandSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, on October 12. The second lecture took place in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
on the 15th, followed by Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
on the 17th, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
on the 20th, and ending on November 1 in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The series was recorded then aired on CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
's Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
between November 10 and 14. At each event Atwood fielded questions from the audience and participated in book signings.
Payback entered The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
bestseller list at #6 and peaked at #1 on October 25. It became the best selling Massey Lecture book to date and was in its fourth printing by the end of November. Excerpts were printed in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
. In April 2009, it was a finalist for the annual National Business Book Award and won a silver medal in the Business Ethics category of the Axiom Business Book Awards. That same month, the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
acquired the film rights, with plans to adapt Payback as a feature-length documentary. They announced the involvement of Jennifer Baichwal as director and Ravida Din as producer. In June 2009, the book was awarded a Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Almost all reviewers commented upon the timeliness of the book's release as the magnitude and causes of the most recent financial crisis were becoming apparent. Some reviewers also commented upon the timeliness of her previous books, like her novel in which society is devastated by a genetically engineered virus, Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake is a novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Atwood has at times disputed the novel being science fiction, preferring to label it speculative fiction and "adventure romance" because it does not deal with 'things that have not been invented yet' and goes beyond the realism she...
, which coincided with the SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus . Between November 2002 and July 2003 an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, with 8,422 cases and 916 deaths worldwide according to the WHO...
outbreak. Playing off this theme Canadian magazine The Walrus
The Walrus
The Walrus is a Canadian general interest magazine which publishes long form journalism on Canadian and international affairs, along with fiction and poetry by Canadian writers. It launched in September 2003, as an attempt to create a Canadian equivalent to American magazines such as Harper's, The...
, at a fund-raiser gala for its charitable foundation, auctioned a crystal decanter with five predictions written by Atwood sealed inside. Journalist Rebecca Eckler
Rebecca Eckler
-Journalism career:Eckler's work has appeared in ELLE, Fashion, Maclean's, Lifestyles, Canadian House and Home and Mademoiselle. She was the host of the short-lived television show Modern Manners, and has appeared on CTV and CBC television, and on Global television as a reporter.Eckler was employed...
was the winning bidder and wrote about the predictions, which include the diminished use of fabric softener
Fabric softener
Fabric softener is used to prevent static cling and make fabric softer. It is available as a liquid, crystals and dryer sheets.- Varieties :...
and the rise in use of industrial hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, in an article for Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine.
Critical response
Critics found the book well-researched and thought-provoking. Reviewers enjoyed Atwood's humour and conversational writing. The style was described as "eclectic", a "literary walkabout", and "anecdotally rich". Novelist David LissDavid Liss
David Liss is an American writer of novels, essays and short fiction; more recently working also in comic books. He was born in New Jersey and grew up in South Florida. Liss received his B. A. degree from Syracuse University, an M. A. from Georgia State University and his M. Phil from Columbia...
wrote that the book was "delightfully engaging, smart, funny, [and] clever". Canadian writer Charles Foran
Charles Foran
Charles Foran is a Canadian novelist and non-fiction writer living in Peterborough, Ontario.-Biography:Foran was born in August 1960 in Toronto to a Franco-Ontarian mother and a father from an Ottawa Irish family. He attended Catholic elementary school and Brebeuf College School, a Jesuit high...
called the book "serious adult fun" that "displays some of the energy of a lively dinner party, one replete with anecdotes and opinions, witticisms and barbs". The book's most entertaining parts are discussions on non-monetary debts and debts portrayed in literature. Regarding the speeches, the reviewer for The Montreal Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
wrote: "Her delivery, as usual, was smooth, relentlessly paced, but with precise pauses for the frequent, much-appreciated laugh lines." John N. Gray, in The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books
The New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
, wrote that "Atwood has combined rigorous analysis, wide-ranging erudition, and a beguilingly playful imagination". The Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
recommended the book for all libraries.
Negative reviews came from Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
and The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
. Louis Bayard of Salon.com disagreed with the delivery of the final chapter, on ecological debt, writing that Atwood "forsakes artistic engagement for ideological reflex". William Skidelsky in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
agreed that the chapter was "by no means the highlight of the book". Allan Massie
Allan Massie
Allan Massie is a well-known Scottish journalist, sports writer and novelist.-Early life:Born in 1938 in Singapore, where his father was a rubber planter for Sime Darby, Massie spent his childhood in Aberdeenshire...
, reviewing for The Scotsman, could not find a coherent argument being presented and found her writing style "veering uncomfortably between the academic and the jokily colloquial, [is] tiresome, [and] some of her writing is pretentious, much obvious and platitudinous". The reviewers in Salon.com and The Scotsman, as well as The Economist, were all uncomfortable with Atwood not distinguishing or contrasting 'good' and 'bad
Bad debt
A bad debt is an amount that is written off by the business as a loss to the business and classified as an expense because the debt owed to the business is unable to be collected, and all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to collect the amount owed...
' debt.