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sidharthan 's review for:
The Hours
by Michael Cunningham
I got curious to read this book after hearing how good the movie based on this was. Like any good book snob, I had to read the book first of course. Also possible spoilers ahead. Consider yourself alerted!
It is a very engrossing book. There is a strong sense of Virginia Woolf throughout - the writing, the style and the whole atmospherics of it is very Woolf-reminiscent. Never mind the fact that Woolf is also a character in the book:) I felt the strong urge to reread Mrs. Dalloway whilst reading this. This was I think the best thing about the book and perhaps also constituted to its downfall. The book was pitting itself against Woolf in a manner, and I think it drew short. There is a style and cadence here that is good on its own but perhaps the unconscious comparison it draws upon itself to Woolf's elegant prose does it more harm.
There is a lot of exploration of the psyche and many interesting characters - Laura Brown especially. I loved the thematic undertones of alternate sexuality that ran throughout. The three narratives that form this book are from different timelines and the realisation and actualisation of sexuality are very different in each timeline. There is a nice curve of improvement you could see over societal and self-acceptance of LGBTQ. Some suggestions of what the movement could become also hint at the continuation of this wonderful arc. In this way it feels like an LGBTQ must-read. There are other parallels and thematic arcs that run through the three narratives but they do sometimes feel like contrivances. You can forgive them because they gel with the flow mostly.
The ending few chapters were perhaps the biggest contrivance that I could not really accept. It felt very unnecessary too. Maybe I am just a morbid lover of open endings but I think I really would've preferred just cutting this book off its last few chapters. Some books especially ones like this that are more a slice of life and a structured narrative than a "story" as such, demand an open ending and I felt cheated of one. A good read nevertheless!
It is a very engrossing book. There is a strong sense of Virginia Woolf throughout - the writing, the style and the whole atmospherics of it is very Woolf-reminiscent. Never mind the fact that Woolf is also a character in the book:) I felt the strong urge to reread Mrs. Dalloway whilst reading this. This was I think the best thing about the book and perhaps also constituted to its downfall. The book was pitting itself against Woolf in a manner, and I think it drew short. There is a style and cadence here that is good on its own but perhaps the unconscious comparison it draws upon itself to Woolf's elegant prose does it more harm.
There is a lot of exploration of the psyche and many interesting characters - Laura Brown especially. I loved the thematic undertones of alternate sexuality that ran throughout. The three narratives that form this book are from different timelines and the realisation and actualisation of sexuality are very different in each timeline. There is a nice curve of improvement you could see over societal and self-acceptance of LGBTQ. Some suggestions of what the movement could become also hint at the continuation of this wonderful arc. In this way it feels like an LGBTQ must-read. There are other parallels and thematic arcs that run through the three narratives but they do sometimes feel like contrivances. You can forgive them because they gel with the flow mostly.
The ending few chapters were perhaps the biggest contrivance that I could not really accept. It felt very unnecessary too. Maybe I am just a morbid lover of open endings but I think I really would've preferred just cutting this book off its last few chapters. Some books especially ones like this that are more a slice of life and a structured narrative than a "story" as such, demand an open ending and I felt cheated of one. A good read nevertheless!