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cassie_04's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
DEAR GOD. AN INFURIATING READ. TOOK ME 5 MONTHS TO FINISH. Great book though. Interesting takes on gender throughout. I also enjoyed the surreal passage of time and place throughout the book. Unfortunately, like much of Woolf's work it is incredibly racist. I enjoy her experimental style but this one was a little bit too loosey goosey and descriptive in places, as well as the frequent racism made this book difficult to read. Has historical and literary interest though, so in those regards, was worth a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, War, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Slavery, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcohol and Classism
murrderdith's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Listen, it's Virginia Woolf. It's good and this is groundbreaking work in its narrative use of gender fluidity. Orlando is an amazing character, even if they* are also an absolute aristocratic snob (I mean, so was Woolf.)
...it's also the book of hers I enjoyed the least. It turns out, my favorite thing about Woolf is her ability to shift perspective within the stream-of-consciousness style she pioneered. The interiority is still here but without that other element, this text felt more linear and rigid than Mrs. Dalloway or To The Lighthouse (my personal favorite.) I missed the writer's ability to embody so many people (and occasionally buildings) within a narrative.
*The character shifts from masculine to feminine pronouns in the text, I'm using the singular they here for expediency's sake.
...it's also the book of hers I enjoyed the least. It turns out, my favorite thing about Woolf is her ability to shift perspective within the stream-of-consciousness style she pioneered. The interiority is still here but without that other element, this text felt more linear and rigid than Mrs. Dalloway or To The Lighthouse (my personal favorite.) I missed the writer's ability to embody so many people (and occasionally buildings) within a narrative.
*The character shifts from masculine to feminine pronouns in the text, I'm using the singular they here for expediency's sake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Gore, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Classism
avocadotoastbee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
"I am sick to death of this particular self. I want another."
Orlando, who was born as a man in the 16th century, lives 400 years and dies as a woman in 1928, when Virginia Woolf finished writing the book Orlando.
Virginia Woolf wrote this novel essentially as a love letter to her lover, Vita Sackville-West, who resembles Orlando. But Orlando is not just an homage, it is so much more. It is miles ahead of its time: exploring gender identity, addressing queer love, and questioning gender roles including men’s position of power in the 18th and 19th centuries - Orlando shows the fluidity and flexibility of time and gender. Orlando depicts love and loss and beauty in both. In addition, Virginia Woolf paints beautiful pictures with her detailed descriptions of nature and landscapes.
I loved reading about Woolf’s ideas and hypotheses about gender, time, love, and evolving and growing as a person. The only thing that interfered with the reading experience was the racially offensive language that was ever present.
I also want to note that it can be difficult at times to follow Woolf's stream of consciousness if you are not familiar with her writing style.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
sofipitch's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book is beautifully written and full of insightful lines and trains of thought. However I also listen to it basically all in one sitting at work and I don't think that is the best way to experience this book, it started to feel tedious and repetitive.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs
aardwyrm's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Just gonna start with the fact that like many things labeled as subversive and full of subtext *for its time*, it's just frantically racist. Spare yourself that if you want. And most of the transgressive queerness is vanilla and silly if you're not living in a pretty repressed portion of 1928.
Like many things occupied with being literature and saying things of importance, the book doesn't have much in the way of characters or plot, but it's not really about either of those things, it's about wry social commentary from a position that doesn't recognize itself as privileged and blinkered, and it's pretty good at being that? I'd never noticed that Douglas Adams had some very Virginia Woolf rhythms before, anyway. And a rewrite that dealt with the fact that this is in fact a sci-fi novel would be fascinating.
Like many things occupied with being literature and saying things of importance, the book doesn't have much in the way of characters or plot, but it's not really about either of those things, it's about wry social commentary from a position that doesn't recognize itself as privileged and blinkered, and it's pretty good at being that? I'd never noticed that Douglas Adams had some very Virginia Woolf rhythms before, anyway. And a rewrite that dealt with the fact that this is in fact a sci-fi novel would be fascinating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Colonisation, Sexism, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
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