Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood truly is a one-off. Her work stands alone in it's texture, emotion, and above all, her expression of the female experience. Having studied Atwood as part of a literature degree, I am familiar with her stance (if you like) as an author, as well as her vast catalogue of work. I would probably advise potential readers of Cat's Eye to have a read of Wilderness Tips (a collection of brilliant short stories) before attempting this. This is not to say one could not pick up Cat's Eye, having never heard of Atwood previously, and not enjoy, understand and appreciate the work. However, I personally feel that her narrative style, with it's sometimes almost interior monologue (or stream of consciousness) descriptions could weigh rather heavily upon the virgin reader of Atwood. Cat's Eye is a wonderful tale, centering around a female painter, Elaine, who returns to the city in which she grew up and the many ghosts she must face there. This book considers, plays with, and disturbs the concept of memory as it consequentely plays with, and disturbs the reader. It also questions the notion of childhood innocence, explores the very essence of growing up, questioning what and who we grown into, and how childhood betrayals can never be forgotten. An important, and, I would argue, canonical book.