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rachel_here's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
jackieeejw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Kind of goes off the rails towards the end and is sometimes lacklustre in the development of the plot but god this is some of the most beautiful prose I’ve read. Virginia Woolf writes these spiralling sentences that just go on and on and on and they’re gorgeous and dizzying and fantastic. Also a trans femme classic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
camillebergeron's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
m4rtt4's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My second time reading this book, and it was a better experience because this time I didn't try to rush through it. Woolf's writing gives you so much to think, and I don't think you're even supposed to understand every single thing — nonetheless, Orlando was a nice ride through time. Woolf's way of writing feminist commentary is witty and original, though her feminism is very white (like everything else in her time). There were also some colonial and even poc-fetishizing scenes in this book, which weren't really necessary to the plot and due to them and the rather confusing plot I can't rate this book higher (it still wasn't bad, just not the best either).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Colonisation
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: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
charlotteregan's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
undeniableemg's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A classic of queer fiction, a surreal meditation on genderfluidity and trans love from a hundred years ago saying even THEN that we've always been here, but shot through with such ugly racism in both the narration and the worldbuilding that it's hard to recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
withywoods's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism