Rating: 
Summary: A woman's retrospective on her childhood.
Review: CAT'S EYE is a formative examination of one woman's often-painful childhood memories of bullying and loneliness. Elaine Risley returns to her childhood city of Toronto to participate in an art gallery show displaying her work throughout her career as a "painter." Upon arriving Elaine is at once confronted with Toronto's transformations since her youth and thus she engages in a thorough revisiting of her childhood memories in this city. After the Risley family relocates to Toronto after living a vagabond lifestyle in the north, Elaine becomes acquainted with a group of schoolgirls that are often cruel and unfriendly under their innocent exteriors portrayed to others.Margaret Atwood performs a magnificent feat of displaying the complexity and convoluted nature of relationships between young girls and women. The sections pertaining to Elaine's childhood are often painful and frank in their honesty. While reading I couldn't help feeling empathy for Elaine while simultaneously being strangely comforted in my realization that my own strained relationships with women are not unique. But despite these factors I failed to enjoy this book as a whole. Once Elaine reached high school I felt the narrative lost steam, became unexciting, and was often bogged down with unneccessary details and painful minutiae of the setting resulting in my careful skimming of the last half and a sour taste in my mouth. Nevertheless, although this isn't by far my favorite Atwood book, it is still worth reading for the aspects outlined above.
Rating: 
Summary: ...a sustained poem.
Review: Being male, I found that reading this book along with my female friend helped me to appreciate it more than I would have on my own. She commented, several times, that "language and observation make this book a sustained poem" and I agreed several times. Her perspective was needed and appreciated. It is definitely a book ABOUT women and FOR women, but us dudes can get something out of it too... because it is brilliantly written.
It is not only an "Atwood" but one of the better "Atwoods"!
The author has stated that Cat's Eye is "about how girlhood traumas continue into adult life" and that is it in a nutshell.
When the painter Elaine Risley returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her work, she is confronted with the memories of her childhood... mysteries to unravel, others to tie up and lay to rest. Elaine the child, had a temperament that allowed other girls to belittle and dominate her.
In a word, she was bullied.
And no one bullied her as much as Cordelia did.
When Elaine is brought back to the geography of her past, she finds that she has to come to terms with her feelings about Cordelia... this retrospective of her WORK turns into a retrospective of her LIFE.
Through flashbacks galore, and in writing that is spare and bleeding with cut-wrist exposure, Atwood leaves no part of Elaine's wounds unsalted.
Here is a question that I think the thoughtful reader will be asked to ponder:
Does "closure" mean annihilation/renunciation of memory, or acceptance/reconciliation of memory?
Or as my friend and I put it: Does Elaine still have her Cat's Eye with her when she returns to Vancouver? This is not a plot-driven, but a personality or character driven book. Those who think that sound-bites on T.V. are too lengthy should probably stay away from it.
Cat's Eye would be a great Book Club selection because of the discussion and opinion that it is sure to stimulate. I'm going to rate it closer to five stars than four.
Rating: 
Summary: A Haunting Novel
Review: Other reviewers have used the word "haunting" to describe this novel, and I must agree. This book stayed with me long after I finished it, and compelled me to read even when I was too tired to do so. At first, I couldn't decide whether I liked it or not. Elaine, the protagonist, does not come across as a strong character; indeed, she is almost painfully introspective and introverted. Her inner life is rich, however, and her ruminations about her family and friends are quite perceptive. So I kept reading and allowed Elaine to reveal herself to me. As a girl, Elaine grows up in a family that is unusual, but loving and supportive of her. Her "friends" are another story. I don't think I've ever read anything that describes so well the cruelty that young girls are capable of. The social and psychological aspects of growing up are no better shown than here. However, this is the strongest part of the book. Elaine's adult life, colored as it was by her past, is not as richly portrayed, but she remains an interesting person. Her art is her catharsis, as personal and as difficult for an outsider to understand as is the artist herself. This book is an eerie coming-of-age tale, told with poetic beauty and sorrow.
Rating:
Summary: way before "mean girls" there was "cat's eye"
Review: Margaret Atwood nails down the subtle cruelties that come with growing up female with female peers. From the perspective of adulthood, the narrator takes the reader through memories of her childhood and adolescence with a charismatic and capricious chum called Cordelia. Cordelia is a typical girl bully, charming to adults, but alternately sweet and vicious to her playmates. What is interesting is that the roles between her and the narrator are reversed once they are teens. Compared to the vivid world of the narrator's youth, her scenes in the "present" are somewhat dull, but that is a minor flaw. "Cat's Eye" shows that girls don't need today's glossy electronic trappings to torment someone to the point where they feel completely invisible. It also shows that empathy doesn't necessarily result from having been the object of bullying.
Rating:
Summary: Not as strong as her other works, but still memorable
Review: Cat's Eye is a solid piece of storytelling. It's not as compelling as 'Alias Grace' or 'The Robber Bride' - but it's certainly a book that will stay with you.
The premise of Cat's Eye has the protagonist, Elaine, reminiscing about her transition from girl to woman in Canada. Woven into the story is her like/hate relationship with a fellow classmate, Cordelia.
I use like/hate because 'love' is not an emotion shared between these two characters - and I think that's what makes the book compelling. It's not often that a novel captures the dynamics between people who don't like each other very much, but are tied together for inexplicable reasons.
And that's what Cat's Eye accomplishes. It shows the difficulty of knowing someone that you would make an attempt *not* to know if you were in different circumstances. And it details how sometimes such relationships can have a long-lasting impact on one's outlook and sense of self.
Atwood also does an excellent job of providing glimpses into the moments when the child becomes the parent - and has no choice but to accept the sometimes poor choices one's parents made when growing up.
There is also a perfectly brief side story about the passing of a close relative of Elaine that is lyrically tragic.
If you haven't read Atwood before, it's a good jumping on point.
Rating:
Summary: way before "mean girls" there was "cat's eye"
Review: I read this book every few years because it's a multi-sense experience - I swear, you will smell and taste and feel and BE with the characters of this book. More than anything, it's the strength of Atwood's words that keep pulling me back to this book. Margaret Atwood is a master at manifesting imagery from words. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a nice, slow read that's to be savored like dark chocolate.
Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: Never before has the pain and laughter of childhood been illustrated with such unique and yet accurate detail, at least for this reader. Atwood's writing is impeccable as she weaves a past-and-present story with fluidity and style, and ingeniously blends dark humor into serious themes. The novel is both poignant and bitingly funny, thanks to Atwood's insight, wit, and her ability to create characters who are hauntingly alive. An outstanding reflection on the consequences of human behavior.
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