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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been wanting to read something written by Virginia Woolf for a while, and getting to learn about her writing style and her thoughts in school was what finally pushed me to choose Orlando as my reading. What I didn’t know was the fact that I was getting myself into one of the hardest writing styles I have ever encountered. It took me a while to get into it - and I soon found out (shoutout to my English teacher who made me realise) that I had chosen Virginia Woolf’s hardest work to read. Yet, it was revelatory. Enlightening, even. The story in itself is amazing, given the fact that it was written in the early twentieth century (she was soooo open minded !! I love her), but what truly changed my life was the writing style. It was extremely difficult to follow at times, and if you miss a line or are not completely concentrated it is very likely for you to be confused for a while. It took me less than a week to finish it because everything was so well put together that I couldn’t put it down. I will for sure be reading other works by her and I completely recommend this masterpiece, which made it to the collection of books that I love with my entire heart.
I am grieving this book now that it’s finished. It was beyond confusing to read, like I was going a million miles an hour, however! incredibly funny and full of such wonders of prose. Virginia was a genius and this book is simply beautiful. I am now ready to read her other delights, to the lighthouse I go…
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rest in peace Orlando. You would have loved being a genderfluid polyamorous baddie writing dark academic poetry at a Second Cup on a rainy tuesday afternoon.
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story of a man named Orlando who lives for hundreds of years, transforms one day into a woman, and seems completely nonplussed about the whole thing, but then slowly changes as a person. The official explanation of this book is it's inspired by (about?) Virginia Woolf's lover. Orlando falls in love, gets married, writes a lot, expects writers to be the most compelling people in the universe (why?) and is disappointed when they're not, etc. And the book contains many lists like the previous. It's not particularly plot-driven.
Personally, I never felt that Orlando came close to appearing as a man - men are told that their identities are based on what they do; women are told that they're based on their relationships - and of course Orlando spends much of his time on relationships and reads and writes aimlessly, simply because that's who he is. But that's what much of the book is: very narrow in some ways. It has several themes: gender as experienced by women; writing and its changing appraisals; actually, I'm not remembering much else, but I think there were one or two others.
I'm used to complex, winding sentences in Modernist literature, and Woolf's go on for a while and use a broad variety of punctuation marks, but are never that difficult to read. And yet, I learned a decent number of words from this book. I can also see writing techniques that mid-20th century writers picked up on. There are lists that trail off, pictures in the text, and a certain vagueness. I wish the book had had settings, but it really didn't, which I was disappointed about. Overall, I had an ok time reading the book, but enjoyed it more after having read it as its ideas came together in my head. There's a lot of sophistication in writing a 'biography' and making it about someone living for centuries and changing genders mid-story. I just wish it had been a more entertaining trip for me.
Personally, I never felt that Orlando came close to appearing as a man - men are told that their identities are based on what they do; women are told that they're based on their relationships - and of course Orlando spends much of his time on relationships and reads and writes aimlessly, simply because that's who he is. But that's what much of the book is: very narrow in some ways. It has several themes: gender as experienced by women; writing and its changing appraisals; actually, I'm not remembering much else, but I think there were one or two others.
I'm used to complex, winding sentences in Modernist literature, and Woolf's go on for a while and use a broad variety of punctuation marks, but are never that difficult to read. And yet, I learned a decent number of words from this book. I can also see writing techniques that mid-20th century writers picked up on. There are lists that trail off, pictures in the text, and a certain vagueness. I wish the book had had settings, but it really didn't, which I was disappointed about. Overall, I had an ok time reading the book, but enjoyed it more after having read it as its ideas came together in my head. There's a lot of sophistication in writing a 'biography' and making it about someone living for centuries and changing genders mid-story. I just wish it had been a more entertaining trip for me.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No