Fictional book review: Cat's Eye (1988) by Margaret Atwood.

It's me again... Your favourite book reviewer back with another Margaret Atwood book to review. This time I thought I would tuck into Atwood's 1988 novel Cat's Eye. This novel is gripped with spectral memories of the narrator's past, it is a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is just a novel that goes through a character's life, from being a child, to growing up as a young person to becoming an adult. Great Expectations (1861) by Charles Dickens is another example. Anyway, the narrator, Elaine is haunted by Cordelia who I will not give too much about her away.

This novel threw me, many times. We had Elaine and her various friends. First we were introduced to Carol, then Grace and finally Cordelia. But it is Cordelia, who's presence is felt throughout the novel. The thing is, I cannot understand why. Without giving too much away, Cordelia was hardly being nice to Elaine and I just expected that as Elaine grew up that she would move on; that she would not have Cordelia in her life at all. Oh no, this is Atwood... That means you cannot know what to expect as she always manages to surprise her readers. Now that is not a bad thing, in fact I like it a lot. I tend to find that if a novel is predictable then it is boring. Why read a book that bores you?

I can tell you all for one thing, the way Atwood maneuvers between the past and present I thought was another key factor in stopping the book from being boring. The narrator Elaine is making comparisons between herself as a child, as a younger adult and as a middle-aged adult. This to me was cleverly done because it reflective in a way that I was as a reader. It meant that I easily envisaged myself being there with her. I could understand her pain, her guilt and her happiness for example with more ease. This allowed me as a reader to empathise with her more. Through Atwood's writing Elaine became more understood. All of this is why I love the novel too, and in particular loved the character of Elaine. This was despite the fact that I was surprised by some of her decisions at times.

Overall, I found this novel an interesting one with a chilling tale of this woman who in my opinion, Atwood has created well. I did however question at various parts of the novel, where it was heading to. For me, I liked the novel but I guess I just wanted more from the novel as a whole. I am asking questions such as - was the ending left that way on purpose or were we meant to get something more? What happened to certain characters? When it comes to rating this novel, I am giving it a 7/10.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my review.

Until next time,

Thomas.