Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
This book felt raw and deeply personal to the author. I loved how she dealt with the complexity of bullying, and how childhood experiences can impact you for the rest of your life.
Cordelia and Elaine’s other childhood friends were deeply human. While cruel, I loved how the author didn’t demonize them and showed they all had their own issues.
Elaine’s struggle to feel trust in adult female friendships because of the bullying she experienced was real. I think many women feel this way. I cried after reading this book because I related heavily to childhood bullying influencing your view of others. Even though my negative experiences were more with little boys I related a lot of how Elaine felt.
Cordelia and Elaine’s other childhood friends were deeply human. While cruel, I loved how the author didn’t demonize them and showed they all had their own issues.
Elaine’s struggle to feel trust in adult female friendships because of the bullying she experienced was real. I think many women feel this way. I cried after reading this book because I related heavily to childhood bullying influencing your view of others. Even though my negative experiences were more with little boys I related a lot of how Elaine felt.
I'm a huge Margaret Atwood fan and recently decided to try and read all of her works. I picked up a used copy of Cat's Eye from a used bookshop in Provincetown, MA while on vacation this summer. I was intrigued by the back-cover description, as I myself am a female painter. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the story nearly as much as I'd hoped I would.
Like all of Atwood's work, this is extremely well written, however, something about the story just left me feeling uninterested. I felt unmotivated to pick it up and continue, and I was often tempted to leave it unfinished and pick up something else. I found in the last few weeks that I was reading it because I'd felt I'd already invested so much time, and was eager to cross it off my list.
I felt there was no real story. No plot, no movement, no excitement or clever connections. It was just a re-telling of a fictional character's life, a character who isn't particularly interesting or unique. I was disappointed as I've read/heard so many people say that this title hooked them onto Atwood, or that it was such an important book for her career, and I just don't get why.
Like all of Atwood's work, this is extremely well written, however, something about the story just left me feeling uninterested. I felt unmotivated to pick it up and continue, and I was often tempted to leave it unfinished and pick up something else. I found in the last few weeks that I was reading it because I'd felt I'd already invested so much time, and was eager to cross it off my list.
I felt there was no real story. No plot, no movement, no excitement or clever connections. It was just a re-telling of a fictional character's life, a character who isn't particularly interesting or unique. I was disappointed as I've read/heard so many people say that this title hooked them onto Atwood, or that it was such an important book for her career, and I just don't get why.
Cat’s Eye is a novel which jumps around in time, but follows the story of Elaine, and her life so far as she moves back to her home town of Toronto. Speaking in the first person, Elaine describes her somewhat unconventional upbringing during... read the full review here: https://www.amybucklesbookshelf.co.uk/2018/10/cats-eye-book-review/
Now a woman with children grown, painter Elaine Risley returns to her hometown of Toronto for an exhibit of her work. All the while, she reflects on her life, from her unconventional upbringing to her traumatic school years to her fumblings at romantic life.
I am so impressed by this book. I read and liked The Handmaid's Tale, but this did so much more for me, and that can be chalked up to the writing style. There were so many quotes that I had to sit with for a while. There were so many "callbacks" in the present timeline to things that had already happened to Elaine, but that we as a reader hadn't seen yet. The bullying in here was so awful and Atwood really shows how childhood events can effect the way people act later in life, even if Elaine herself doesn't really notice it. I don't know what else to say about this except this is definitely one of the best literary fictions I've read in a while. This absolutely needs more attention.
I am so impressed by this book. I read and liked The Handmaid's Tale, but this did so much more for me, and that can be chalked up to the writing style. There were so many quotes that I had to sit with for a while. There were so many "callbacks" in the present timeline to things that had already happened to Elaine, but that we as a reader hadn't seen yet. The bullying in here was so awful and Atwood really shows how childhood events can effect the way people act later in life, even if Elaine herself doesn't really notice it. I don't know what else to say about this except this is definitely one of the best literary fictions I've read in a while. This absolutely needs more attention.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Showcases how childhood can affect your life decades later, even when you can’t remember it.
Like many others, I preferred the first half. But I didn’t hate the second half. It might not seem so direct, but the second half - including the actions of Elaine - stemmed largely from her experiences in the first half.
A haunting reminder to confront and heal from your past experiences.
Like many others, I preferred the first half. But I didn’t hate the second half. It might not seem so direct, but the second half - including the actions of Elaine - stemmed largely from her experiences in the first half.
A haunting reminder to confront and heal from your past experiences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Toxic friendship
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Initially I gave 4 stars to this book. Now it's been almost a year since I listened to it and I still vividly remember the characters and the emotions it instigated in me. Some books just perfectly capture human condition and stay with you for years after you read or listen to them. Therefore, I corrected my rating and gave it whole 5 stars.
I loved this book!! Margaret Atwood never fails to write a thougt-provoking story with beautiful writing, often portraying experiences and emotions that feel scarily familiar.
Elaine is a painter in her late 40’s attending an art exhibition in Toronto (her childhood town) which she fled, to move to Vancouver and ignore her past.
The book opens with a memory of her brother, Stephens’ insight into time: ‘you dont look back along time but down through it, like water. Sometimes this comes to the surface, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. Nothing goes away’. And this immediately provides the reader with the entire purpose of this book.
Elaine is back in her home town and reflecting on her childhood in Toronto. This provides observations on girlhood, bullying, motherhood, relationships, and mental health. It provides a detailed overview of the impact childhood experiences can have on adulthood and her present existence as a 40-something-year-old. Most significantly her troubled relationship with Cordelia, her best friend throughout her childhood, who was a manipulative bully towards Elaine at 9 years old. The impact this time had on Elaine is clear throughout and again reflects Stephens insight: her traumatic experiences are sometimes there and sometimes a forgotten blur, but they never leave completely. Elaine struggles to move on from this time and from Cordelia, looking for her in every encounter across present Toronto and guessing her fate: homeless? Crazy? Dead? Theres also repeated mentions of things that seem to unknowingly relate to this period e.g. snow ans mrs Smeath. The book shows Elaines journey of trying to move on from Cordelia and her nine year old self.
A common theme throughout is also Elaines struggle to form and maintain female friendships, due to her inability to understand girlhood. Atwood finds a way of portraying emotions and experiences in a way that feels so familiar. I think every woman can identify with an aspect of Elaines story. And I love the portrayal of an “imperfect woman and feminist” whilst still maintaining a powerful conversation on misogyny and recognising the inequality in the standards men and women are held to: ‘it isn’t chic for women to be drunk. Men drunks are more excusable, more easily absolved, but why?’. And my favourite quote ‘I’m not mad because I’m a woman…I’m mad because you’re an asshole’.
Elaine is a painter in her late 40’s attending an art exhibition in Toronto (her childhood town) which she fled, to move to Vancouver and ignore her past.
The book opens with a memory of her brother, Stephens’ insight into time: ‘you dont look back along time but down through it, like water. Sometimes this comes to the surface, sometimes that, sometimes nothing. Nothing goes away’. And this immediately provides the reader with the entire purpose of this book.
Elaine is back in her home town and reflecting on her childhood in Toronto. This provides observations on girlhood, bullying, motherhood, relationships, and mental health. It provides a detailed overview of the impact childhood experiences can have on adulthood and her present existence as a 40-something-year-old. Most significantly her troubled relationship with Cordelia, her best friend throughout her childhood, who was a manipulative bully towards Elaine at 9 years old. The impact this time had on Elaine is clear throughout and again reflects Stephens insight: her traumatic experiences are sometimes there and sometimes a forgotten blur, but they never leave completely. Elaine struggles to move on from this time and from Cordelia, looking for her in every encounter across present Toronto and guessing her fate: homeless? Crazy? Dead? Theres also repeated mentions of things that seem to unknowingly relate to this period e.g. snow ans mrs Smeath. The book shows Elaines journey of trying to move on from Cordelia and her nine year old self.
A common theme throughout is also Elaines struggle to form and maintain female friendships, due to her inability to understand girlhood. Atwood finds a way of portraying emotions and experiences in a way that feels so familiar. I think every woman can identify with an aspect of Elaines story. And I love the portrayal of an “imperfect woman and feminist” whilst still maintaining a powerful conversation on misogyny and recognising the inequality in the standards men and women are held to: ‘it isn’t chic for women to be drunk. Men drunks are more excusable, more easily absolved, but why?’. And my favourite quote ‘I’m not mad because I’m a woman…I’m mad because you’re an asshole’.