Cat's Eye (1992 original; edició 1998)

Time is not a line but a dimension, like the dimensions of space. If you can bend space you can bend time also, and if you knew enough and could move faster than light you could travel backward in time and exist in two places at once.
It was my brother Stephen who told me that, when he wore his raveling maroon sweater to study in and spent a lot of time standing on his head so that the blood would run down into his brain and nourish it. I didn't understand what he meant, but maybe he didn't explain it very well. He was already moving away from the imprecision of words.

A rich and introspective Kunstlerroman, this novel unpacks the illusory nature of memory and time. It's a slow build, but I enjoyed it immensely. I think Atwood fans would probably enjoynthis, as well as artists. ( )

Margaret Atwood is my favorite author of all time. I was in grade 10 when I first read The Handmaid’s Tale, and was blown away by the writing and that a book could cause me to question the world around me for days. While I have read and been introduced to a lot of other amazing authors since I was a tenth grader, I haven’t read any author that makes me question my worldview quite like Atwood. Despite my love for Margaret Atwood, I have not come close to reading even a quarter of her entire book collection yet.


Cat’s Eye has been sitting on my bookshelf now for well over two years and it wasn’t until recently that I felt like it was the right time to pick it up. Even though the book has essentially been sitting around to collect dust, I think I’m happy that I waited so long to read it, as the themes center on growing up and identity.


The book works as a dual timeline, moving between protagonist Elaine’s life as a middle aged artist and her untraditional childhood. I liked how the book explored Toronto and northern Ontario through the perspective of younger and older Elaine. The writing and creation of the plot is so on point that even though the time period changes at times between paragraphs, I was never confused as a reader. Additionally, I loved how quickly time seems to move in the novel. I remember reading a scene where Elaine had her first child and thinking “I swear Elaine was only a child a couple minutes ago!” Atwood really captured how fast time passes and identity changes as we move and meet new people.


The scope of the novel is spectacular, and I loved Elaine’s voice through the first person. She was such an interesting character ‘to grow up with’ in the sense we learn about her from her childhood to her adulthood. Her life is so interesting, and I love reading about characters that fascinate me.


This review really could be my longest yet, but I’d much rather you read the novel than my analysis of it.


Rating: 10/10 I loved every moment I spent reading this novel. Atwood is such an amazing author whose work continues to amaze me no matter how many of her books I’ve already read. ( )

Overall I enjoyed it. I liked reading about the process of creating art. The character used art to express the pain of childhood, the loss of friends and family. Near the end of the book, in Chapter 72, Elaine views her early artwork and reflects interestingly on how she viewed adults (Mrs. Smeath) and how she reacted to events from her past. The connects to the very first page of the book. I loved that part of the book. The ending was a bit sad. ( )

Was kind of a slog, because I often found it hard to care about the characters. But it was v v well written, in terms of the imagery and the evocative literary metaphors and mood. ( )