Book Fiend

Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood The Blurb Elaine Risley, a painter, returns to Toronto to find herself overwhelmed by her past. Memories of childhood - unbearable betrayals and cruelties - surface relentlessley, forcing her to confront the spectre of Cordelia, once her best friend and tormentor, who has haunted her for forty years. Review This is the third book I have read by Margaret Atwood, and I wasn't disappointed. The basic story revolves around Elaine Risley, who returns to Toronto as a middle aged woman for an exhibition of her work. The story of Elaine's life is then told via a series of memories, mostly focusing on her childhood and her relationship with her 'friend' Cordelia, but also covering the later years of her life. Like a lot of Atwood's books, the narrative is quite disjointed. The memories of her post are mingled in with what is happening in the present, and she skips huge chunks of time when remembering. I found this slightly confusing in a few paces, but in general it works really well. I absolutely loved this book (it's the first book I've felt compelled to write a review about!). I thought the story was beautiful and haunting, the characters were incredibly well drawn, even the 'bit-part' characters. I also love the way Atwood writes about childhood, she captures the thoughts and feelings of being 9 years old perfectly. Also, the relationship between Elaine and Cordelia, which is the main crux of the book, is brilliantly portrayed. Mostly though I just love the way that Margaret Atwood writes. She doesn't use lots of 'big' words (you don't need to sit with a dictionary on your lap!), what she does is takes quite plain language and twists it and uses it in the most beautiful way I have ever come across. I risk going a bit over the top now in my praise of Atwoods writing, so I will limit myself to say that I find it poetic and beautiful and strangely hypnotic. Finally, I will say that I read a few reviews of this on Amazon before reading it, and one complaint somebody made is that nothing actually happens. They're partly right, but they are also completely missing the point. This book isn't about huge thrilling blockbuster events, it's about life, and the people we meet and the affect they have on us. And if you read the book with that expectation I'm sure you will love it. 10/10 All I can say is read it, read it, read it!!!!

'Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge' The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

I'll get in with this before anybody else does, 'The Time Traveler's Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger (2003 I believe, although it says 2004 in my copy) Luckily my other favourite book (Captain Corelli's Mandolin) was published before 2000 so not too much deliberation!

'If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of ****, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.' The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger I love this line!

I managed to read 20 pages of Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood at lunch, taking me to page 120! I am absolutely loving this book! This is my 3rd Margaret Atwood book and I think she is just an amazing writer.

I once tried to work out how much I had spent on book collection, but I had to stop it was too scary! I agree though, there are far worse things to be addicted to!

Ooh this is officially my favourite thread!! OK, five more about me: 1 - Despite being quite a typical girl, I just don't get the whole 'shoe' thing 2 - However I do love scarves, I just can't stop buying them! 3 - When I was born my feet were bent inwards, which meant that as a child I always had to wear Startrite shoes and tripped over a lot! There was talk of breaking my feet and resetting them, but luckily they straightened themselves out and are now more or less normal. 4 - I'm very very clumsy and a bit ditzy 5 - I eat far too many crisps

I came across this one today and love it! 'This goes along with another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise' - Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood This is exactly how I feel most of the time!

That is very true and so beautifully put! I read an article a while ago that said that people who read a lot have more empathy for other people because they are used to seeing the world from somebody elses point of view. So it's official - reading makes you a better person!

It was horrible, I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life! I was ok until the man said 'now we're going to the deep end' but I just physically couldn't make myself do it! I'm ok with snorkelling but I do panic if I get water in my mouth / nose / eyes and I have to get out immediately! This is fine with snorkelling as you can just lift your face out of the water, not so good with diving!! I know I would just shoot to the surface and probably end up hurting myself!

Ooh five facts about me: 1 - I've been learning Spanish for one year and I have a lovely (male) Spanish penfriend who my friends are convinced I'm going to end up marrying! 2 - I'm very claustrophobic - which I discovered when I paid

I did a quick search and I can't see an existing thread about this so here goes..... Who are you top five favourite characters of all time?? The ones you would love to meet (or be!) in real life? Mine are: 1 - Dumbledore (from Harry Potter) - Dumbledore is my inspiration! He's clever, he's funny and he's very very cool! This quote just about sums him up: "You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts...but you cannot deny he's got style" 2 - Lestat (from Anne Rices Vampire Chronicles) - Finally, a vampire who doesn't spend all his time moping about feeling guilty! He's very bad...but he makes it sound so much fun! 3 - The Marquis de Carabas (from Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman) - Another fantastically cool & clever character! 4 - Elizabeth Bennett (from Pride and Prejudice) - I love how witty and feisty she is, especially for the time the book was written. 5 - The Fool (from The Farseer Trilogy) - A mysterious, enigmatic, witty, incredibly sarcastic character with a heart of gold and a wonderful childlike quality.

I finally finished Neverwhere today! It is a really brilliant book, a wonderfully imaginative, dark, twisted fairytale for grown ups! It creates a whole fantastically strange world, with memorable characters (I loved De Carabas!) and a clever plot. I want to live in London Below!!

I haven't been on here for a while so just a quick update! I'm still here and I'm STILL reading Neverwhere. It's a fantastic book (really!) but unfortunately a lack of free time lately, combined with some bad mojo and being really ill last week means I'm still not finished! I hate it when you're reading an excellent book but for reasons beyond your control you just can't quite get into it properly. I'm going for a really big push this weekend to try and get it finished Ooh also just wanted to say a big thank you to everybody who sent me a 'happy birthday' message today!

"Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you" from The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zaf

I second that! I read this a couple of years ago and loved it, I think it's such an interesting idea for a novel. I like a good post-apocalyptic novel myself so I may be adding a few of these suggestions to my wishlist

Ooh I think I came across some of these whilst doing a bit of Amazon research. Antony Beever's Spanish Civil War looked very good, as did The New Spaniards. In fact, I might give that one a try. I'm learning Spanish at the minute so I just thought it would be nice to learn a bit about the country. Thank you all for your suggestions

I can spot a few books on your TBR pile which I've read and really enjoyed. Crybbe by Phill Rickman is a wonderfully spooky horror story, I have some more of his that I need to get around to reading. The Time Travellers Wife and the His Dark Materials Trilogy are some of my favourites! I've also read A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time and enjoyed them both very much. And if it makes you feel better my TBR is almost as big as yours, and is still growing!!

I second the Robin Hobb suggestion. I have recently finished the Farseer Triology and was mightily impressed! And when you've read that, there's then The Liveship Traders Triology (which I have but haven't read yet) and The Tawny Man Triology (which somebody had just lent me but I haven't started yet!) They are all set in the same world, and I think The Tawny Man Trilogy is based on the same characters as the Farseer Triolgy.

Valentino Rossi Arguably the greatest motocycle racer ever, but it's his incredible charm and charisma that makes him the best in my opinion (I LOVE him!) Always gracious in defeat as well (some sportsmen could learn a lot from him!)

I was in town today so I popped into Fopp and bought Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood, and Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I'm vey proud that I managed to get out with only 2 books! (neither of which were on my wishlist unfortunately!) As far as actual reading goes, I've not been doing too great lately. I've not had much free time, and when I do get free time I just can't be bothered. It's terrible because the book I'm reading (Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman) is fantastic!