Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Orlando

WOW WOW WOW I need all of my friends to read thissssssss

God I just adore how Woolf writes! Next read: Love Letters -- Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West :)

On a more serious note, I think the fact that this book was published and became popular in Virginia Woolf's lifetime is incredible. There's so much experimentation with the fluidity of gender and sexuality, and the fact that it is written to naturally lends its progressive aspects even more strength. As a queer person, I found this narrative to be unequivocally freeing. Of course, Virginia Woolf's style is unique and experimental and thoughful as always :).

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melliedm's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.75

Moments of utter brilliance mixed in with a humour that must have appealed to the time, but which struggles to age with the same dignity as it’s gender themes.

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lucyatoz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.0

Orlando by Virginia Woolf was an intriguing and surreal book to read.

Spanning just over 400 years, from 1500 to the late 1920's, it tells the story of Orlando in different times, places and genders! It is, at times, melodramatic, then philosophical, light hearted and then very intense. There are elements of it that I did not like, such as the racial slurs used, however, this was the language used at the times depicted and when it was written.

It is a very cleverly crafted story which has stood the test of time and is, in it way, a masterpiece of writing. However, the way that the ending was left was somewhat disappointing and left me feeling a little underwhelmed when the rest of the book had so much to say.

I own a copy of this book and listened to it on BorrowBox. I read this for prompt 29, published in a year of the Dragon (1928), for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.

Content Warnings