Take a photo of a barcode or cover
casssiopeia 's review for:
Orlando
by Virginia Woolf
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I will be pondering this one for a long time. My first Virginia Woolf adventure and after Orlando, I actually can’t wait to dive into her essays.
The first half of this book was rich with motifs that were threaded together perfectly and made the moment of Orlando’s transition all the more jaw-dropping and beautiful. As the second half went on, I found it difficult to completely understand what was going on plot-wise and it was more difficult to keep up with the sharper details and I am sure I missed a lot of beautiful motifs and symbolism.
Beyond this being a ground-breaking and I can imagine radical examination of gender and sexuality for the time of its publication, more than that I was amazed at how effortlessly Woolf connected this to a deeper critique of industrialism and explored the question of whether monetization of art, literature, music — these uniquely human contributions to existence — has dampened our collective spirit to a point of no return.
Overall, this book was a beautiful reminder that we all deserve to create space in our lives, no matter how stressful, fast, or monotonous, to come back to what truly matters — what is OUR meaning of Life? What is OUR ecstasy?
The first half of this book was rich with motifs that were threaded together perfectly and made the moment of Orlando’s transition all the more jaw-dropping and beautiful. As the second half went on, I found it difficult to completely understand what was going on plot-wise and it was more difficult to keep up with the sharper details and I am sure I missed a lot of beautiful motifs and symbolism.
Beyond this being a ground-breaking and I can imagine radical examination of gender and sexuality for the time of its publication, more than that I was amazed at how effortlessly Woolf connected this to a deeper critique of industrialism and explored the question of whether monetization of art, literature, music — these uniquely human contributions to existence — has dampened our collective spirit to a point of no return.
Overall, this book was a beautiful reminder that we all deserve to create space in our lives, no matter how stressful, fast, or monotonous, to come back to what truly matters — what is OUR meaning of Life? What is OUR ecstasy?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation