Atwood is clever in describing typical friendships between girls with the simple line, "we think we are all friends". Young Elaine Risley has all the angst of a young girl growing up in the bullseye of bullying; something that haunts the adult Elaine when she returns back to her childhood city of Toronto to put on an art show. Elaine confronts the painful memories of the various traumas of her childhood with every passing landmark. Most prominent from her childhood are three girls who at turns tormented and loved Elaine with equal parts malice and warmth. As with all young friendships, Elaine was an easy target. She was desperate to please; bullied into thinking she was never good enough for the friendships she begged to have. One of the saddest moments for me was when Elaine contemplated suicide, not because she wanted to end her life, but because she knew how much her death would please an enemy.
As a teenager, Elaine discovered she had a sharp tongue which becomes her best defense and her most valuable weapon. Her enemies fall away not because they leave her, but because she lets them go.
As an adult, Elaine learns that the monsters of our youth can shrink to the harmless size of dust balls under the bed; their teeth and claws can dull upon adult scrutiny. But not all of them go away, especially when you do not want them to. ( )

It was ok, i read it quickly as sometimes the words were a little flowery for me ( )

Elaine is a famous modern artist, returning to her hometown Toronto for a retrospective exhibit. The return conjures up intense memories, including sustained bullying at the hands of childhood friends, chief among them Cordelia. Eventually, after much squirm-inducing treatment, there is a ultimate act of cruelty, Elaine finds the courage to stop the cycle. Amazingly, the friendship with C continues --love and hate intertwines-- with Elaine finally exacting her comeuppance. Amidst the detailed descriptions of childhood there are moments of lightness: her brother's quirky intelligence and forbearance, her parents' love of all things wild, a well-meaning art teacher, etc. E's relationships with men suffers in comparison to the childhood friendships for this reader. I didn't care. E's entry into the world of art was less interesting, as well. It remains all about those pivotal childhood relationships, the casual cruelty of girls (which Atwood makes clear is due in part to their lack of power: I agree) and the see-sawing of personal affirmation and assertion. ( )

Marbles, jump-ropes, paper dolls. For the child Elaine they are the props of a childhood marked by anxiety as she navigates the playground with its baffling rules of engagement, at the mercy of “friends” who smile for the parents while whispering cruelties in her ear.

Margaret Atwood has mastered the art of time travel in Cat’s Eye; this novel is not a reminiscence. Although grown-up Elaine opens the story, it is the child Elaine who describes her first meeting with Carol, then Grace – and then with Cordelia. As the narrative shifts among the different Elaines - Elaine in her teens, college student Elaine, wife and mother Elaine, and Elaine in her fifties, there is never a hint of any other age; events recounted clearly by the child Elaine are vague and suppressed when we listen to the voice of Elaine in junior high. Toys that are very important to the child Elaine, described in loving detail, are shrugged off by adult Elaine when seen again with no memory of their importance.

There are so many themes one could explore in this book – motherhood, sibling relationships, wealth, marriage, infidelity, loss, grief – and I suppose we could do that with enough time to dissect it thoroughly. At its essence though, in addition to being beautifully crafted, this story is eminently readable.
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A book I read almost 40 years ago and is another example of the genius of Margaret Atwood. Simply a writer to be treasured. No need to go into the plot. Simply read it along with the many other books she has written. You will not be disappointed. ( )