Cat’s Eye
By Margaret Atwood
Vintage, 1998, 480pp.
The Short of It:
What a read. Took me forever to get to it, but so glad I did.
The Rest of It:
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 the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. ~ from the publisher
When I chose this book for club, some online readers immediately warned me that it was a rough read. Oddly enough, I didn’t get that at all. Yes, maybe some childhood trauma in relation to bullying but honestly, I’ve experienced much worse. Instead, what I felt was a return to our younger years. The formative years where what others say, shape you.
Also, the impact of friends and their parents. You never know what a child is remembering or how any act of kindness or cruelness is perceived. Elaine Risley runs around with a pack of girls, a pack. You know the kind. The kind with a ringleader. The kind where every action is scrutinized and your membership in the group hangs on every word that comes out of your mouth.
Elaine is a painter though. Everything that she takes in, eventually comes out on a canvas. Her art is controversial. Criticism abounds and yet, she manages to find places for her work to be displayed and has made a name for herself. She calls herself a painter but not an artist. Interesting. As if just the title of artist means something less than what it is.
But those girls. It made me think about gender and how it plays a role in cruelness. Girls can be mean. Very mean. Their words are like daggers and their criticism can slice right through you. Boys can be mean, but I’d argue that they tend to be more physical. They can duke it out in a fist fight and be friends again by the end of the day.
The impact of those relationships in childhood is never ending. As we discussed the book, we could not help but revisit traumas we experienced in childhood. Bigger evils, lesser. It’s all relative but what happens to you in childhood sticks.
Atwood is an amazing storyteller. She can pivot on a dime and does. Her depiction of childhood is spot on. Highly recommend.
Source: Purchased
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