Margaret Atwood, an avid horticulturist, with her cat Blackie in Toronto, June 25, 1994, photographed by Jill Krementz.
MONDAY, November 3
Margaret Atwood will be honored this week at the annual Literary Lions dinner at the New York Public Library. One under-appreciated novel is Cat’s Eye (1988). Cat’s Eye tells the story of Elaine, an artist who returns to Toronto, the scene of her childhood misery. What I remember most is how Elaine peels skin from her feet when she is unhappy. I still find that image chilling. Atwood’s most famous book, The Handmaid’s Tale, tells a story of religious and sexual fascism. It’s relevant again, just as news breaks that the 200 kidnapped girls in Nigeria have been converted and married off by Boko Haram.
New York Public Library Literary Lions Dinner with Dave Eggers, Kazuo Ishiguro, Robert B. Silvers, Anna Deavere Smith.
