There's just something about Margaret Atwood's writing that I find incredibly compelling. I struggled a bit in the beginning, but once the introspective elements get rolling, I was totally grabbed by it.

The protagonist Elaine is a middle-aged painter who after many years returns to Toronto, the city she grew up in. It's a story that shows how childhood can shape a person, a story that shows how cruel children can be. Elaine has a dysfunctional friendship with a circle of girls who bully her, things she can only reflect in her paintings. It's wistful at times, as Elaine struggles with her return to Toronto, and with aging, and it can be quite visceral, in her damaged relationships with the other girls, or the men in her life.

If you enjoyed Atwood in the past, there's a good chance that you might enjoy this as well.