Ten days after the war ended,
my sister
Laura drove a car off a bridge.
The bridge
was being repaired: she went
right through
the Danger sign. The car fell
a hundred feet
into the ravine, smashing through
the treetops
feathery with new leaves,
then burst
into flames and rolled down into
the shallow
creek at the bottom. Chunks of
the bridge
fell on top of it. Nothing much
was left
of her but charred smithereens.
When I began this account of
Laura's life
― of my own life ― I had no
idea why I
was writing it, or who I expected
might read
it once I'd done. But it's clear
to me now.
I was writing it for you, because
you're
the one ― the only one ― who
needs it now.
The Ceremony goes as usual.
I lie on my back, fully clothed
except
for the healthy white cotton
underdrawers.
（中略）
Above me, towards the head
of the bed,
Serena Joy is arranged, outspread.
Her legs
are apart, I lie between them,
my head on
her stomach, her pubic bone under
the base
of my skull, her thighs on either
side of
me. She too is fully clothed.
My arms are raised; she holds
my hands,
each of mine in each of hers.
This is supposed
to signify that we are one flesh,
one being.
What it really means is that
she is in control,
of the process and thus of the
product. If
any. The rings of her left hand
cut into
my fingers. It may or may not
be revenge.
My red skirt is hitched up
to my waist,
though no higher. Below
it the Commander
is fucking.
Book Description Returning to the city of her youth for a
retrospective of her art, controversial painter
Elaine Risley is engulfed by vivid images
of the past. Strongest of all is the figure
of Cordelia, leader of the trio of girls
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 Cordelia's
haunting memory. Disturbing, hilarious, and
compassionate, Cat's Eye is a breathtaking
contemporary novel of a woman grappling with
the tangled knot of her life.
