Cat's Eye Review

So Margaret Atwood and I are parting ways... literally & figuratively.   I allowed myself to stop reading Cat's Eye because I felt so miserable reading it & I left it behind in Paris as a trade at the Irish pub (and English book exchange) that I was frequenting.   I realized that I've had a similar experience reading each work of hers I've picked up.  I read an essay about Atwood & Cat's Eye to try and understand the experiences of others (and to find out what happens instead of reading for myself) & it spoke of her nihilistic views. I honestly don't know if Atwood is a nihilist but it seems to fit with my fundamental problem of her work.  She has amazing allegory & turns of phrase - for instance I chucked & identified with the line "aging begins at the elbows and metastasizes"  (though men don't seem to appreciate the sentiment - and really, what do they worry about for aging besides baldness & impotence?) - but I cannot appreciate the characters or stories because they are continuously defeated. 

From the main characters' viewpoint there is an ongoing dialogue about aging: running down, sagging, drooling, memory loss, morbidity in the anticipated breakdown by maggots after death.  From her closest observation of her family come parallel entropic observations concerning the expanding universe, stars burning themselves out, pollution and corruption and human consumption of the planet. 

I've read other difficult reads on the holocaust (Elie Wiesel's Night being one of the more nightmaric and vivid) or abuse or other uncomfortable topics but there is always a vein of humanism running through to redeem them - a spark of hope or defiance.  Even 1984, which completely defeats the characters at the end, had something - perhaps what might be called a Buddhist outlook that all is suffering and one ascends suffering by embracing it - that redeems it (though I still threw the book against the wall at the end!).  At best, Atwood's characters will accept or resign themselves to their fate as part of their evolution.  This hardly provides catharsis for me.  I feel completely dissatisfied throughout the read and gain no perspective to make it worthwhile for me.  I understand that this is a favorite among other viewers and I'd really like to understand why.  I can recognize the skill with which Atwood executes her craft but I cannot admire the result even when I identify at times with the characters.

I would love to hear arguments to Atwood's favor.