While the show is readied, she remembers.įirst, her girlhood in the late '40s, in which she is terrorized by the "whispering indirectness" of her girlfriends, meanest of which is the precociously aggressive Cordelia. Walking the gentrified city, she recalls her buried life in scenes as turbulent as those her paintings depict, which (she'll learn) have preserved her past better that she has. Elaine Risley, a painter pushing 50, has returned to Toronto, where she grew up and went to art school, for a retrospective show. But beyond the gender truths, here we have a highly personal portrait of a woman unlearning the bitterness of her past (which includes many strictures of feminism), lessons that cannot awaken others until she learns them herself. Astride her other "feminist" novels, including the very successful "The Handmaid's Tale," "Cat's Eye" erects another beacon of liberation, grounded in the awakening lives of girls, mothers and female artists. But more, her novel seems to model a voice that best expresses anyone's painful search for an unfettered, cleansed self.įew works that tackle the enigma of personal identity radiate with such integrity and openness, seeking to unravel the knotted-up lies of a lifetime. To read it is also to sense the work as a blueprint for living, a sort of prayer book disguised as a novel.Ītwood has written a magnificent confession about a woman at midlife finding herself while forgiving the self she thought she was. Once touched, this heart seems boundless, a cup running over, a spring capable of repeated renewals.īig-hearted with a big B. One among many achievements of Margaret Atwood's new novel is that it is possible to unveil much this poignant story offers without giving away its heart.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |