Sunday, September 13, 2009

Memories in a Marble

I actually started and finished a 400+ page book recently, primarily because I had to for my upcoming book group, but this is not to take anything away from Margaret Atwood's very good book, Cat's Eye.  Female readers beware: you may experience unpleasant flashbacks to long suppressed memories of childhood cruelty (girl-to-girl) and the culture that allows this. I certainly had one, which helps me understand how the main character, Elaine, could  have repressed her very awful memories for so long.  Male readers can sit back, at least partially, in their seats and not feel too much heat, with the exception that they should please note the presence/absence of the fathers in this book. Having heard these forewarnings, you might not even want to start the book, but the first line will hook you and pull you into a superbly written novel exploring how time and memories fold into one another and how we salvage bits of ourselves from this continuum. There are many areas to explore in the book including the role of creativity (Elaine is a painter) vs. destruction, the symbolism of light, mirrors and eyes, and the clash of nature vs. conformity. Cat's Eye was mood-filled and thought- provoking.

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