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Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

Cannonball Read / Teabelly

Book Reviews | June 18, 2009 | Comments (17)

When it comes to Margaret Atwood I tend to cling to The Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin and not venture much into her other work. Since I love her writing that’s kinda silly, so I picked this one up. It follows artist Elaine Risley from her childhood in 40s and 50s Canada, to her middle age as a well-known painter. As a child she befriends Cordelia, but she and two other girls alternate between being nice to her, and making her life a misery. They drift apart until their teens when they become friends again, but Elaine doesn’t really remember Cordelia’s earlier actions. Though as adults they see little of each other, Elaine thinks of her old friend often, and when she goes back to her childhood home for a showing of her art, she can’t help but be slightly haunted by her.

This is definitely not one of my favorites of Atwood’s. I feel a bit bad for not liking it more, but I’m afraid it did become a bit of a chore to pick up. I enjoyed the parts of Elaine’s childhood and found how she is treated then by Cordelia to be the most interesting. Atwood is able to make you empathize greatly with the young Elaine, and understand why she puts up with it, but at the same time you can’t wait for her to stand up for herself. Cordelia is hateful, but since the adults around her are poisonous she’s feeding off this and ultimately gets their approval, which seriously makes you angry.

Elaine as an adult dragged at times. Atwood writes beautifully, it’s true, but I found myself skipping huge amounts of text that felt as if it wasn’t telling me anything. The novel is told from the first person and you’re constantly in Elaine’s head, and that’s quite a stifling place to be at times. I don’t know how I feel about her as a narrator. As a child I can feel sorry for her but as an adult I’m not sure I like her very much, or know whether I’m supposed to.

I didn’t feel there was much resolution, either. Maybe that’s the point, but she spends so much of her time thinking about Cordelia and thinking she’s seen her, and then…nothing. It’s not a terrible book by any means, it just didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t find it moving, or very thought provoking, it just seemed to keep going and going for no real reason. It’s very possible I have missed the point, but I am happy to stick with my two favorites for a while after reading this.

This book is part of the Cannonball Read series. For more of teabelly’s reviews, check out her blog, Teabelly’s Place.


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Comments

You should definitely give Alias Grace a chance. It's my second favorite of hers behind The Handmaid's Tale. Good mystery plot, compelling narrator, and extra cool if you have some familiarity with Victorian novels. Also, her short story collections are really good, if sometimes a bit dated.

Posted by: bravesjade at June 18, 2009 9:15 AM

That's more like it.

Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at June 18, 2009 9:26 AM

Oryx and Crake.

Posted by: twig at June 18, 2009 9:43 AM

bravesjade I have read Alias Grace, but it was years ago and I don't remember much about it.

twig And I did read Oryx and Crake, not one of my faves but I feel like I should give it another go.

Am obviously a liar when I say I don't venture that much into her work...but I think that's it.

Posted by: Carrie (aka Teabelly) at June 18, 2009 10:05 AM

I still regard Surfacing as Atwood's best book.

Posted by: Keith at June 18, 2009 10:30 AM

I also love Atwood, and second the recommendation for Alias Grace if anyone else is interested. I liked Cat's Eye but it had its weak points and isn't nearly as good as some of her other work so I agree that this definitely isn't the Atwood novel to start with. I also would advise people to not start with The Robber Bride - of all her novels, that's the one I liked least.

Posted by: Jen at June 18, 2009 10:40 AM

Ooohh, how about The Robber Bride?

But I personally think that Alias Grace was one of her best.... Oryx and Crake was pretty awesome too.

I just adore her.

Posted by: Janey at June 18, 2009 11:20 AM

I really liked Cat's Eye- it was the first Atwood book I ever read, and it resonated with me for some reason. I agree with the thing about Elaine's head being a stifling place... it gets kind of bogged down. But, I dunno- if you're into adolescent psychology it's a pretty interesting read. It kind of shows how early social relationships roll... kids are cruel and all of that. Elaine as an adult is certainly less interesting than Elaine as a child, though.

I loved The Robber Bride, too. I feel like none of Atwood's books really have much in the way of resolution, but for some reason it works. Her books are like snapshots into a person's mind- and the story doesn't really have an ending because the person is still alive. All we get is this look into someone's head, and then that's it. For some reason I really like that. Must be the voyuer coming out.

I REALLY like Atwood's short stories, too. They are a little weird... kind of disjointed, even. But they resonate with me... I'm not sure why. Just saying.

Posted by: Cletus at June 18, 2009 11:49 AM

great review! i sort of loved this one, but i think it was mostly because i had a group of "friends" like elaine's when i was little (little girls are secretly evil, don't let anyone tell you differently), so i identified with the story. but i agree that oryx and crake is still probably one of her best, although my absolute favorite is the robber bride.

always nice to see some atwood love

Posted by: memily at June 18, 2009 12:19 PM

Love Cat's Eye - it's a nasty bit of business, as is The Robber Bride. She just captures evil-as-shit women so well and delves right into why other females would be so attracted to them. Atwood is such a gifted writer.

Posted by: samantha t at June 18, 2009 12:21 PM

The Edible Woman is also excellent, all about not having control and trying to control what you can control out of desperation.

Seconding the love for the other titles mentioned in the comments. I enjoy everything I've read by Atwood, and I actually haven't read Cat's Eye yet, I gotta get on it.

Posted by: phquaryn at June 18, 2009 12:54 PM

I also liked The Edible Woman, I recommend it.

Posted by: rebecca at June 18, 2009 1:56 PM

If you want to read another fab Canadian author, Alice Munro kicks ass.

Posted by: samantha t at June 18, 2009 4:13 PM

omg twins! I am, like you, a huge fan of Handmaids and Assassin, but I HATED Cat's Eye. I read only the backstory of the girls as kids and teenagers. The grownup story was boring as hell. For so long I thought I wasn't smart enough to get it. Now I feel better knowing that it wasn't just me! Thanks!

Btw. I second that her stories are awesome. Rape Fantasies is in my top 10 favorite stories ever.

Posted by: fartygirl at June 18, 2009 5:41 PM

I was surprised to see so much love for The Robber Bride, because that's the one Atwood novel I re-read because I can't figure it out. (The others I re-read because I love them beyond reason.) And yet that, and Surfacing, which I also struggle with, both came up as favorites here. Further proof of the good taste and literary chops of Pajibans.

I am seconding Alias Grace, nth-ing Oryx and Crake, and putting in a word for what I think is the most oddball and whimsical of Atwood's novels, Lady Oracle. I love the way Atwood plays with genres, and seeing her take on romantic/Gothic fiction is deeply entertaining. (Also echoing the Alice Munro recommendation - she's excellent.)

Posted by: eninnej at June 18, 2009 5:53 PM

Cat's Eye I totally got into, like another commenter mentioned, having dealt with mean girl crap. I liked the parts of Elaine as an adult too because I could also relate to looking back at yourself as a kid from an adult point of view and trying to live a life when you've got guilt or regrets or things that haunt you. And Cat's Eye was a really haunting story imo. But all of Atwood's books are like that for me. I've also noticed that some of her books that I hated when I was younger I like now. Or the reverse. Or even if I liked a book when I was younger, I still find something different about it - more layers, things I missed - when I read it again years later. The Blind Assassin haunted me. I had DREAMS about the characters. I don't like all of her stories, but they always creep into my brain and don't let go. IMO, good stuff. There's no one like her. Oryz and Crake rocked. I love meeting other Atwood fans! I've attended some of her lectures too...she is one freaky cool lady.

Posted by: c at June 19, 2009 1:43 AM

I love Atwood too! I've noticed that most Atwood fans here are girls/women. I think..

Posted by: caragwapa at June 20, 2009 4:28 AM