Reviews

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

rosewolfeemery's review against another edition

4.0

I loved this book. I've only read The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin, but this is my favourite Atwood novel so far.

Cat's Eye perfectly captures the fear and dependency that characterises the relationship between a childhood bully and her victim. The "spectre" of Cordelia resonates so powerfully throughout the book - not because she's a particularly cruel or interesting character (it's fairly easy to work out why she became a bully), but how she imprinted herself so indelibly on our protagonist.

My favourite parts of the book occur when Elaine begins to dissociate from the reality of her situation. I also appreciated the shifting dynamics between the four girls - how a victim can resort to bullying herself, and how changing circumstances can appear to disrupt a power balance.

I haven't given Cat's Eye five stars simply because I found Elaine's adulthood less interesting than her childhood; I feel like the book would have been just as good if it had ended 100 pages sooner. I was also hoping for some sort of emotional payoff at the end, but that wouldn't have been realistic.

jamil's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

auri_underthing's review against another edition

Not my taste. 

lydia_woolf's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kippersandjam's review against another edition

3.0

I was a little sceptical about this book, as I feel Atwood is very much like marmite - you either love her or you hate her. I enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale, but had heard various things about Cat's Eye. It was an enjoyable read, whereby the book is Elaine's journey from childhood through to adulthood, but written so as it's her perspective looking back on what happened.

It didn't grip me, yet I didn't have the heart to stop reading it. I wanted to know what happened in the end. Was she happy? How did she grow and evolve? Did she?! Yet, I couldn't help but count down the pages. I grew bored of it, of her.

It was a good novel, yes, and I yes, I would recommend it. It just isn't the one if you want your world to be moved.

shyfroglet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

charlottemarston's review against another edition

3.0

Was not really a fan due to the flashback/current story style and found the main character annoying but appreciate that it may be the wrong time to read it. Was not as immersed as I usually am in a Margaret Atwood book

trvshbvt's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

stefs1974's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

felizcpb's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25