Cat's Eye | 
pickAnother IRL club book, this time from August. What for me is an old Canadian classic studied in university, with the main threads being childhood bullying, classism, and art. What I still remember from 35 years ago is the bullying descriptions, girl-on-girl: I can resonate now more with the descriptions of tense adult relationships with men, as well as with other women. Not the greatest fiction I‘ve ever read now, but still worth it.
so-soA slow moving narrative spanning from the protagonists childhood to current age in midlife - there is no real plot arc or storyline other than insights to the ups and downs of friendship, sibling and parent relationships. Love Atwood‘s style of writing, but this was a bit bizarre and long-winded overall.
pickCat‘s Eye isn‘t exactly a book that I‘d rave about, but that doesn‘t mean that I didn‘t enjoy it or that it‘s not worth reading. I‘d wager that it‘s probably of most interest to the mothers of girls, though perhaps it‘s relevance is stretched a bit thin with Gen Alpha (who are bullying each other through their smart watches or meta-glasses now, or holographs, who knows). Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/cats-eye-margaret-atwood/
#Scarathlon Photo Challenge Day 26 prompt: Cat
#HHC
@bookmarktavern @dabbe @liatrek @jessclark78 @chrissyreadit @thedaysgoby @vonnie862 @ladyCait84 @sresendez12 @kelli7990 @jessiekb
pickBrilliant writing with beautiful prose that compelled me to read certain lines over and over. An achingly realistic and personal story unfolds through the frame narrative of a flawed, immensely relatable woman looking back on her formative years and how much those years, relationships, and experiences shaped her work.
pickTime, memory and childhood trauma are themes in this disturbing, masterfully written novel. The narrator is now a middle aged successful painter remembering amongst other things the ways her cruel childhood friend and bully tormented her. I don‘t know why, maybe it‘s the distant cool tone, but I found it hard to relate to the narrator and care about her. The writing drew me in, yet the long descriptions were quite boring. Barely a pick for me.
It's the birthday of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, born on this day in 1939.
"[My mother] says she doesn't give a hoot. The word hoot pleases me. It makes my mother into a non mother, a sort of mutant owl…Not giving a hoot would be a luxury. It describes the fine, irreverent carelessness I myself would like to cultivate, in these and other matters."
--Cat's Eye (1988)
so-soElaine Ridley returns to Toronto for a gallery showing of her art. As opening night approaches, she remembers her childhood & the imprints people left in her life.
Atwood is thoughtful & complex. I just saw too much of myself in young Elaine. There‘s a specific trauma of being a girl with a friend group of girls that don‘t actually like you. And this book kind of forced me to confront the parts of my life now where that still hurts. 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
“What we share may be a lot like a #traffic accident but we get one another. We are survivors of each other. We have been #shark to one another, but also lifeboat. That counts for something.” It‘s not often I manage to find a quote that fits two prompts! #QuotsyAug20
panI ground through this. Took me ages because, like with all Atwood's novels, I found this hard to read. There's something about her style that's almost science fiction-y. Short sentences, lots of descriptive digressions. They feel oddly unemotional. I know I could pick any paragraph from any of her books and write an essay about it. And I'm genuinely awed at how beautiful and insightful some of her writing is, but I just don't enjoy her stories.
The first page really drew me in!
January was a good reading month for me!
20 books total (8 print, 12 audio)
9 books from Mt TBR
3 #1001books
2 classics
2 nonfiction
2 BOTM backlist books
8 challenge books:
3 #ReadingEurope2020
3 #ReadingWomenChallenge
2 #Booked2020
ReadAroundTheWorld: Taiwan ✔️
Three 5-star books:
Cat‘s Eye
The House of Special Purpose
The Winter Sea
pickMargaret Atwood is incredible.
This book is so well-written and powerful. A deep dive study of childhood and its impact on adult life. Beautifully detailed narrative of middle aged woman visiting her childhood hometown. Her memories unfold slowly, but I was never bored and often taken aback. I saw pieces of myself as a kid, a teenager, a wife, a mom, and as a woman in general. So disturbing, but so incredibly good.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#1001books
pickI love Atwood's writing and this story was no exception. Elaine is an artist who has returned to Toronto, where she grew up, for a showing of her art work. The story moves between the past and the present. We learn so much about Elaine's life; her relationship with her brother, her parents and the “friends” she makes in elementary school. Each chapter revealed something new about Elaine, I was thoroughly swept up in the story. #1001books
pickThis book reminded me so much of my childhood and what Elaine went through as a kid. My heart broke for Elaine and how she was bullied. I understood. It was like I was almost reading my diary from that time.
But I still loved it!! ☹️💔
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.” -Margaret Atwood, Cat‘s Eye
This is my mostly Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Dystopian shelf. With oversized books at the bottom. #shelves #30JuneBooks @howjessreads
See any of your favorites here?
#SpringIntoSpring @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88
#Cliques
This is the first book that came to mind. The relationship between the four girls was toxic. Fantastic look at bullying among young girls.
pickHow have I only just found this book!?! Atwood at her best yet again, the story telling is so powerful! Details perfectly how events from childhood can shape the rest of your life. Even if you never realised it. Love love love!! #maragretatwood #catseye
“The past isn‘t quaint while you‘re in it. Only at a safe distance, later, when you can see it as decor, not in the shape your life‘s been squeezed into.”
First page already sucking me in...
pickSome books demand to be savoured, and this was one such book. It's very well done. It's about how one person can fuck up your entire existence, at least that's my interpretation. At the end, she seems to be able to let go.
This is my first book of the year. How's your weekend so far?
462 pages, normally paced. #MargaretAtwood
8 hour road trip started! Going to try and do some reading while I'm in the passenger seat. Maybe my library book Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood. #roadtrip #bookdragon
pickThe second Atwood novel I read after The Handmaid‘s Tale blew me away. At times difficult to read because Atwood really gets how children can be cruel. This is the story of an unequal friendship and the toll childhood can take on one‘s later life. The cover made me think of today‘s prompt #walkingintheair
#WinterWonderland
Atwood writes so brilliantly about the #IllMakeYouSorry element in friendships between girls, especially when the hate is underscored by love 💔 #NoFemmeber
@Billypar @Cinfhen
For #FeministFriday, my Atwood shelf. (Handmaid‘s Tale is on loan to a friend.) #readingresolutions @Jess7
A favorite set in #Canada by a favorite Canadian author. #augustisatrip @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88
My next read! I‘ve heard good things about Margaret Atwood‘s work, but this will be the first thing of hers that I‘ve read.
