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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*uni read
this one's a real stinker for sure.
first of all, this is literally just virginia woolf fanfiction. starting off with romanticising woolf's suicide and then following it with rewriting almost all of the plot of mrs dalloway but reframing it in a more explicitly 'queer' way and trying to modernise it should not constitute as an original piece of fiction. not to mention that whole paragraphs are ripped straight out of woolf's text and just placed into this one is so lazy.
the attempt to make this whole book profound and more than what it seems fails so miserably because there is nothing that hasn't either been explained away immediately or just lacks the substance to become something to analyse. there are just these lines that make you roll your eyes, and i genuinely had to put the book down and walk away for minutes at a time.
the way in which the book tries to centre these characters as queer is also just so insensitive. to say that a very clearly gay woman was the happiest when in a relationship with a man is so incredibly awful, and then trying to push other characters who have not been written (not like they have any depth anyway) to be queer to suddenly have this awakening or realisation just takes away from the representation that it was trying to go for. also not to mention just refusing to mention woolf's own real and known relationship with another woman.
i just do not understand how you can just replicate another book but completely ruin it when the material was all there for you??
this one's a real stinker for sure.
first of all, this is literally just virginia woolf fanfiction. starting off with romanticising woolf's suicide and then following it with rewriting almost all of the plot of mrs dalloway but reframing it in a more explicitly 'queer' way and trying to modernise it should not constitute as an original piece of fiction. not to mention that whole paragraphs are ripped straight out of woolf's text and just placed into this one is so lazy.
the attempt to make this whole book profound and more than what it seems fails so miserably because there is nothing that hasn't either been explained away immediately or just lacks the substance to become something to analyse. there are just these lines that make you roll your eyes, and i genuinely had to put the book down and walk away for minutes at a time.
the way in which the book tries to centre these characters as queer is also just so insensitive. to say that a very clearly gay woman was the happiest when in a relationship with a man is so incredibly awful, and then trying to push other characters who have not been written (not like they have any depth anyway) to be queer to suddenly have this awakening or realisation just takes away from the representation that it was trying to go for. also not to mention just refusing to mention woolf's own real and known relationship with another woman.
i just do not understand how you can just replicate another book but completely ruin it when the material was all there for you??
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
An amazing reimagining of Mrs. Dalloway that I thoroughly enjoyed for all the layers of complexity it added to the original story. I feel like Woolf’s style was so well evoked and I loved exploring again how a brief snapshot in time contained so much life and contemplation, made more so even by the three distinct timelines. Totally get why this is a classic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i think the way Michael Cunningham writes has forever changed me as a person (altered my brain chemistry, if you will). unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the position you are looking at it from), i will never NOT annotate a book that moves me. i fear the amount of exclamation marks i have haphazardly left on the margins, along with "he understands, he gets it" (he being Mr Cunningham, of course) is borderline criminal.
perhaps the workings (and non-workings) of an elevator are not a metaphor for life for some, but Michael Cunningham would like to disagree. and i can't help but back him up on this one.
perhaps a nick in the side of a bowl is not noteworthy to most—it is one of my favourite paragraphs in this book. i suspect Mr Cunningham has not intended it so, but i could do nothing but be swept away by a perfect and inevitable triangular nick in a bowl.
i have been moved by this beyond any words that could hope to describe the sensation.
mirrors, ceramic statuettes, flowers (and their arrangements or the lack thereof) all intertwine beautifully through the story of three women. there's so much to say about this, i find it the easiest to just leave a quote from Michael Cunningham here that he has uttered during an interview and that has stuck to my being ever since: "The fact that she ended her life is not the story of her life."
perhaps the workings (and non-workings) of an elevator are not a metaphor for life for some, but Michael Cunningham would like to disagree. and i can't help but back him up on this one.
perhaps a nick in the side of a bowl is not noteworthy to most—it is one of my favourite paragraphs in this book. i suspect Mr Cunningham has not intended it so, but i could do nothing but be swept away by a perfect and inevitable triangular nick in a bowl.
i have been moved by this beyond any words that could hope to describe the sensation.
mirrors, ceramic statuettes, flowers (and their arrangements or the lack thereof) all intertwine beautifully through the story of three women. there's so much to say about this, i find it the easiest to just leave a quote from Michael Cunningham here that he has uttered during an interview and that has stuck to my being ever since: "The fact that she ended her life is not the story of her life."
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
One of the few novels written by a man who I believe really captured the inner workings of the female mind. The connections he weaves between our three women blend together to create one devastating story. LOLZ I know my own mental health is fragile at this time because every sentence PUNCHED me right in the gut. To be a woman...