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A review by gilliadd
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cat's Eye is the story of a childhood ruined and the life lived in its shadow. How often are lives lived backwards to appease the children that we once were (and still are)? And how often does this unconscious fixation turn into art? Is art just a form of obsession? An attempt to understand? A process fixed in space? A snapshot of us trying?
I was a vigilant child. Always alert for where the danger may come, watchful where it may hurt. I had the tendency to read into words, misinterpret gestures; for every scene gone wrong, i have explanations ready. An agitated child, prepared for self-defense. It was self-serving and I was full of malice. People, of course, were not out to get me. People have themselves to worry. But it's a default I learned where I shouldn't - at home.
Like Elaine, I grew up with a scathing mouth, and then turned submissive, miserable. "Maybe I will never be more than what I am now." But I have learned to accept, or so I think, as Elaine did. And I also know maybe I will slice up my wrst, and pretend I slipped, as Elaine did.
I was a vigilant child. Always alert for where the danger may come, watchful where it may hurt. I had the tendency to read into words, misinterpret gestures; for every scene gone wrong, i have explanations ready. An agitated child, prepared for self-defense. It was self-serving and I was full of malice. People, of course, were not out to get me. People have themselves to worry. But it's a default I learned where I shouldn't - at home.
Like Elaine, I grew up with a scathing mouth, and then turned submissive, miserable. "Maybe I will never be more than what I am now." But I have learned to accept, or so I think, as Elaine did. And I also know maybe I will slice up my wrst, and pretend I slipped, as Elaine did.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying