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Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
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Cat's Eye

by Margaret Atwood

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While I am a fan of her more speculative fiction, I’m finding that Margaret Atwood can write about almost anything and make it fascinating. This long mainstream novel is a character study of Elaine, a female artist growing up in Toronto who finds herself riding the wave of early feminism. The narrative moves back and forth from the present, when Elaine has returned to her native city for a showing, to her past, from her early childhood through her first marriage and divorce.

Clearly, the most formative time in Elaine’s life is when as a pre-adolescent girl, she was bullied mercilessly by her friends in the torturous ways that only girls can seem to devise. Ironically, she can’t even remember these events, having blocked the abuse completely, until she is going through her dying mother’s things and discovers some meaningful items from her childhood that bring the memories flooding back. I think all women can relate to what Elaine experienced, and I even found myself cheering out loud when she finally stands up to her tormentors. Still, she never quite gets over it, and that incident will shape her life and her art, even when she doesn’t remember it.

Atwood tells a wonderful coming-of-age story here, while aptly weaving in the history of the feminist movement, especially in art, and drawing parallels between the y ( )
sturlington | Jun 27, 2009 |  
This is a very layered book which while painful to read in some parts when it deals with a childhood bullying brings a level of understanding to how childhood experiences
affect you as an adult and how you gain more perspective about your experiences . It also provides a social commentary on Canada between the 1940s-80s and also touches on feminist issues. ( )
somekindofblue | May 29, 2009 |  
In my 30s now I still feel deep pain from those tennish years and hatred towards "those girls" Cat's Eye captures all those feelings so well and weaves the story in such a way that we are cringing in advance for Elaine and booing Cordelia. This is one of Atwood's more accessible novels as well. ( )
technodiabla | May 19, 2009 |  
Long before there was "Mean Girls," Margaret Atwood was writing about the complexities and cruelties inherrent in young, female friendships, and how it has long-term effects. The novel's protagonist, Elaine, is a celebrated, yet controversial, painter showing off her work in a gallery. Her work represents the turmoil locked inside her, depictions of people and events from her past. The novel continuously skips from the present to the past to show just how Elaine's girlhood remains a shadow over her adulthood.

In the past, Elaine was at the mercy of what we, today, would call "frenemies": Ringleader Cordelia, and followers Grace and Carol. Elaine craved their acceptance, and was sorely taken advantage of, to the point of physical and emotional abuse. When one day the girls go too far in their torment, Elaine experiences an epiphany that will later shape her life and artwork.

The best thing about Atwood is how all her characters are developed. In Atwood novels, as in real life, there are no one-sided characters. We come to understand Cordelia a little better in her teen years, and see how Elaine is put into a position of power over her. This period of Elaine's life, too, works its way into lasting influence in the character's life and art.

This is one of my most favorite books, being extremely well written. A lot of emotion exudes from every page; women, in particular, may find that the girls' cruelty hits close to home. ( )
StoutHearted | Apr 30, 2009 | 5 vote
One of my all time favorites. ( )
candacekvance | Apr 17, 2009 |  
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Epigraph
When the Tukanas cut off her head, the old woman collected her own blood in her hands and blew it towards the sun. "My soul enters you, too!" she shouted. Since then anyone who kills receives in his body, without wanting or knowing it, the soul of his victim.
--Eduardo Galeano Memory of Fire: Genesis
Why do we remember the past, and not the future?
--Stephen W. Hawking A Brief History of Time
Dedication
This book is for S.
First words
Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Book description
Controversial painter Elaine Risley vividly reflects on her childhood and teenage years. Her strongest memories are of Cordelia, who was the leader of a trio of girls who were both very cruel and very kind to young Elaine, in ways that tint Elaine's perceptions of relationships and her world—not to mention her art—into the character's middle years. The novel unfolds in Canada of the mid-20th century, from World War II to the late 1980s, and includes a look at many of the cultural elements of that time period, including feminism and various modern art movements.

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0385491026, Paperback)

Cat's Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as a daughter, a lover, an artist, and a woman--but above all she must seek release from her haunting memories. Disturbing, hilarious, and compassionate, Cat's Eye is a breathtaking novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knot of her life.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:09 -0400)

(see all 5 descriptions)

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