Painter Elaine Risley returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her work and is flooded with memories of Cordelia — her childhood best friend who systematically tormented her. Atwood writes the definitive novel about female cruelty and the particular violence of girls' friendships. Every woman who reads it recognizes something.
Clean — psychological themes.
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Atwood drew from her Toronto childhood — fictionalized but emotionally real.
Elaine is a painter — her art processes her trauma.
Critically underrated — many consider it her most personal masterpiece.