Originally published in 1988, Margaret Atwood employs her wry humour, rich irony, and keen eye for detail in this brilliant exploration of the treacherous terrain of childhood.
Elaine Risley is a controversial painter who has just returned from Vancouver to Toronto, the city of her youth, for a retrospective of her work. Engulfed by vivid images of the past, she reminisces about a trio of girls, led by the enigmatic Cordelia, who initiated her into 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 from her haunting memories. The realm of childhood and growing up, with its secrecies, cruelties, betrayals, and terrors, has never been so brilliantly evoked.
