Cats Eyes

A breathtaking novel of a woman grappling with the tangled knot of her life—from the bestselling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments Disturbing, humorous, and compassionate, Cat’s Eye is the story of Elaine Risley, a controversial painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her art. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls who initiated her into the the fierce politics of childhood and its secret world of friendship, longing, and betrayal. Elaine must come to terms with her own identity as a daughter, a lover, an artist, and a woman—but above all she must seek release form her haunting memories.

Controversial painter Elaine Risley returns from Vancouver for a retrospective of her work. Here, in Toronto, the city of her youth, she confronts the submerged layers of her past – her unconventional family, her eccentric and brilliant brother, the self-righteous Mrs. Smeath, and the two men Elaine later came to love in diverse and sometimes disastrous ways. But it is the enigmatic Cordelia, once her tormentor, then her best friend, whose elusive yet powerful presence in her life Elaine finally comes to understand. The realm of childhood and growing up, with its secrecies, cruelties, betrayals, and terrors, has never been so brilliantly evoked. By turns disquieting, humorous, compassionate, haunting and mordant, Cat’s Eye is vintage Atwood.

By the author of The Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace Elaine Risley, a painter, returns to Toronto to find herself overwhelmed by her past. Memories of childhood - unbearable betrayals and cruelties - surface relentlessly, forcing her to confront the spectre of Cordelia, once her best friend and tormentor, who has haunted her for forty years. 'Not since Graham Greene has a novelist captured so forcefully the relationship between school bully and victim...Atwood's games are played, exquisitely, by little girls' LISTENER An exceptional novel from the winner of the 2000 Booker Prize

Learn about the similarities between cat eyes and reflectors.

With time slipping away, saving the universe takes bravery…and cats. Learning to intermix her regular life with her new, destined life as a guardian of universal knowledge, Erica Randal studies hard, trains hard, and manages the two distinctly different parts of her day-to-day. She’s even getting used to her new cohort of cats, though the tension between her and the leader of her cats, Galahad, leaves her edgy. Getting used to the fact that Galahad has a human form, and that she finds that human form…compelling, makes their new living situation fraught. But even with that, Erica has accepted her new life, her new family. Accepted her fate. Even enjoys the training. What she really craves now, though… Her first chance to retrieve one of the books she and her aunt are fated to protect. So when the opportunity finally arises, Erica jumps at the chance. A retrieval that leads her and her cats into a dangerous desert adventure. A confrontation with deadly magic. And time running out for all of them… Author’s Note: This story is also published in the collection HAUNTS AND HOWLS AND JESTERS BELLS. keywords: Cat shifters, portal fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, magic fantasy, action and adventure, short story collections, demons and devils, witches and wizards, urban fantasy magic, magic and mayhem, monsters and demons, heroes and warriors, myths and legends, paranormal romance

SCRATCH. PURR. Night after night the soft cat noises drifted through the isolated A-frame where bestselling author Dee Conner retreated to write her romances. Was it another harmless prank pulled by one of her fans? Or was it something much more sinister . . . and deadly . . . ? SCRATCH. PURR. Carl Garrett, the fourth bodyguard hired to protect Dee, recognized the sounds for what they were. Demon sounds. Garrett was one of the few survivors of the hushed-up events in Ruger County. But the Lord of Darkness would not make the same mistake twice. The battle was only just beginning—a battle of nerves as well as strength that would pit one man against the most terrifying evil of all . . .

This collection investigates the origins of our most intriguing old-fashioned superstitions, many of which we still find ourselves abiding by today. Hundreds of the beliefs passed down through the generations have their foundations in our ancestors' efforts to ward off evil, which they blamed for hardship, illness and injustice in times when life was, as often as not, 'nasty, brutish and short'. Black Cats and Evil Eyes sets these superstitions in their historical and social context, explaining how fear of the Devil, demons, evil spirits and witchcraft drove people to arm themselves with rituals and talismans to repel dark forces and allow them to live long and healthy lives. In examining many of our common superstitions, this book illuminates the customs, beliefs and practices that link us to an ancient, and often darker, human past.