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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
good, felt very tender about child richie. not sure if the “twist” paid off for me. i think more risks could have been taken with the language—which is what i always come back to with mrs. dalloway.
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
Tons of inspiration from Mrs. Dalloway in this book, so maybe should have read that first to understand the homage. As much as I like the movie, I just didn’t connect with this. I love the ending though and seeing it all come together.
Ik moet Ms. Dalloway lezen, en dan The Hours nog eens opnieuw lezen.
“We throw our parties; we abandon our families to live alone in Canada; we struggle to write books that do not change the world, despite our gifts and our unstinting efforts, our most extravagant hopes. We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep. It's as simple and ordinary as that. A few jump out windows, or drown themselves, or take pills; more die by accident; and most of us are slowly devoured by some disease, or, if we're very fortunate, by time itself. There's just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we've ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) know these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult. Still, we cherish the city, the morning; we hope, more than anything, for more. Heaven only knows why we love it so.”
“We throw our parties; we abandon our families to live alone in Canada; we struggle to write books that do not change the world, despite our gifts and our unstinting efforts, our most extravagant hopes. We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep. It's as simple and ordinary as that. A few jump out windows, or drown themselves, or take pills; more die by accident; and most of us are slowly devoured by some disease, or, if we're very fortunate, by time itself. There's just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we've ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) know these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult. Still, we cherish the city, the morning; we hope, more than anything, for more. Heaven only knows why we love it so.”
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
“There’s just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we’ve ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) knows these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult. Still, we cherish the city, the morning; we hope, more than anything, for more.
Heaven only knows why we love it so.”
What a beautiful book.
The first chapter had me questioning what to expect, but despite the heavy themes, this story ultimately felt quite hopeful in a very realistic way. Cunningham’s approach to writing a story with multiple POVs was completely unique to anything I’ve read before and it was very effective. Even in the darker moments there was comfort in the way these three women related to each other, and to the reader by extension. I was delighted by the simple reminders of their connection to each other - the yellow roses, the birds singing in Greek.
Despite all of the similarities, I was also intrigued by some of the womens’ differences - particularly Virginia and Laura compared to Clarissa. Many of Laura and Virginia’s internal struggles are all too familiar to women in any time period, but thankfully, we now live in an era where seeking help for your mental health is not only more common, but often encouraged. If Virginia and Laura had more support, how would things have been different for them? Clarissa, on the other hand, has so much more freedom in the way that she is able to express herself and live her life. She still has her struggles, but they are less consuming than those of Laura and Virginia, and that feels intentional. Having the women all live in different decades highlighted the differences in their experiences in a way that was especially fascinating to read in 2025.
Also, as someone who is horrible at predicting twists in all forms of media, I was completed surprised by the “twist” at the end.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Gorgeous, glittering, exhilarating. What a lark! What a plunge! Such a well-written, hauntingly poetic, painfully serious reimagining of Virginia Woolf‘s work. The narrative threads are woven together masterfully - marvellous jn their repetition of what has been written before as in their newness. The language is searing, shimmering, a boldly beautiful reflection of life. Oh, the things a simple couple of hours can do with and say about a life! How we loathe life, how we love it!
Sometimes I wonder whether I am being too harsh in my judgement of the novels I read, and then I stumble across writing like this, words that eat their way into my soul and leave a blazing trail of hunger for more, of yearning for life, and I remember. I remember what exactly it is that writing does to me when it is exceptional, and that I am right to chase that feeling and to miss it in less incisive and less intimate books. The Hours took my breath, pulled me into the fragments of these lives and their reminiscence of what has been and come before. Yes, this is literature I feel in my core, in its complexity and its simplicity. Knowing and loving Virginia Woolf made this ever so much more exhilarating, but it is much more than a mere brutish copy. The the joys, the pains, and always that struggle for life.
Sometimes I wonder whether I am being too harsh in my judgement of the novels I read, and then I stumble across writing like this, words that eat their way into my soul and leave a blazing trail of hunger for more, of yearning for life, and I remember. I remember what exactly it is that writing does to me when it is exceptional, and that I am right to chase that feeling and to miss it in less incisive and less intimate books. The Hours took my breath, pulled me into the fragments of these lives and their reminiscence of what has been and come before. Yes, this is literature I feel in my core, in its complexity and its simplicity. Knowing and loving Virginia Woolf made this ever so much more exhilarating, but it is much more than a mere brutish copy. The the joys, the pains, and always that struggle for life.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated