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mrsmamastomach's review against another edition
2.0
Abandonat a mitges, no vaig tenir la paciència d'acabar-lo després del club de lectura. L'inici se'm va fer massa feixuc i em va desmotivar a seguir-lo encara que els comentaris dels companys lectors em van fer revifar l'interès. El ritme és lent, força dens i un cop em van explicar què passava en les darreres pàgines no vaig trobar l'energia per continuar. Una llàstima :(
joeytitmouse's review against another edition
5.0
When you read a book the second time and it gets better.
Even more relatable this time around.
Even more relatable this time around.
joeytitmouse's review against another edition
5.0
Ok. This book is very good to eat. I have to say that. However, it seems as though Woolf (a most unfortunate last name) is unsure if she was writing a fictional biography, a novel, or a sociological experiment. It starts out full of action and, of course, Woolf's wonderful diction, but as we meet halfway it becomes more and more commentary, and then the end. The end is just... what the hell is going on? IT IS THE GOOSE! THE WILD GOOSE!
It's like La Charme Discrète de la Bourgeoisie, which starts out normal and ends on a note of sheer insanity.
The last 50 or so pages cover only two hours, and have a speed which reminds me of the end of Sophie's World, where the Sophie and Alfred rush to break out of the book-within-the-book before it ends;
Now, I liked it as a whole. And there is in me a feeling that this pacing and style was intended by Woolf as a commentary - A man gets to lead a life of action whereas a woman must be satisfied with contemplation. It's about life, it's about relationships.
I recommend this book to very few people. You'd have to have the perfect temperament to enjoy it. I'd say that many, many people would not enjoy it, and it seems that GoodReads agrees with that. I identified an immeasurable amount with the Lord Orlando, later Duke, later Lady. S/he's what I am; Solitary and untrusting of people, intensely reflexive, poetic but not opportunistic, unaffected with gender though enslaved by it, melancholic but finding adoration in life itself, so many things I could identify with. The book was to me a toy boat on the Serpentine.
Oh, yea, and so many wonderful allusions that I'm going to keep as inside jokes.
Edit July 29 2020 to add ^^^ hahahahahahahaha look at the fooking egg. I was such an egg.
It's like La Charme Discrète de la Bourgeoisie, which starts out normal and ends on a note of sheer insanity.
The last 50 or so pages cover only two hours, and have a speed which reminds me of the end of Sophie's World, where the Sophie and Alfred rush to break out of the book-within-the-book before it ends;
Now, I liked it as a whole. And there is in me a feeling that this pacing and style was intended by Woolf as a commentary - A man gets to lead a life of action whereas a woman must be satisfied with contemplation. It's about life, it's about relationships.
I recommend this book to very few people. You'd have to have the perfect temperament to enjoy it. I'd say that many, many people would not enjoy it, and it seems that GoodReads agrees with that. I identified an immeasurable amount with the Lord Orlando, later Duke, later Lady. S/he's what I am; Solitary and untrusting of people, intensely reflexive, poetic but not opportunistic, unaffected with gender though enslaved by it, melancholic but finding adoration in life itself, so many things I could identify with. The book was to me a toy boat on the Serpentine.
Oh, yea, and so many wonderful allusions that I'm going to keep as inside jokes.
Edit July 29 2020 to add ^^^ hahahahahahahaha look at the fooking egg. I was such an egg.
copenhag's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book unknowing that this book was one of the first queer novels. At times, I was a little confused with Orlando’s thinking and their actions, but overall, it was an entertaining read.
I really enjoyed how it plays on the stereotype of transgender people “spontaneously” deciding to transition, when in reality, it is usually not so. Additionally, I liked how Orlando reinforced multiple times throughout the book that they “were always” this way. I’m using those two words in quotations as I cannot remember the specifics of Orlando’s reasoning.
Overall, the book was entertaining and humorous. 3/5
I really enjoyed how it plays on the stereotype of transgender people “spontaneously” deciding to transition, when in reality, it is usually not so. Additionally, I liked how Orlando reinforced multiple times throughout the book that they “were always” this way. I’m using those two words in quotations as I cannot remember the specifics of Orlando’s reasoning.
Overall, the book was entertaining and humorous. 3/5
zesty_lemon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pinja_marilla's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
megsk's review against another edition
wasn't really enthralling me, also maybe just didn't have the braincells
squid_vicious's review against another edition
4.0
I read “Orlando” years ago, and I can’t claim that I fully “got it” at the time. I don’t think I knew enough about the context, or about Woolf to appreciate this book the way it was meant to. I kept wondering why we are never really told how or why the character’s gender suddenly changes and how come they seem to be immortal. I think I felt annoyed at the lack of explanation – not really grasping that the explanation is completely immaterial in what Woolf is doing with this character.
What I really noticed this time around was the barely contained enthusiasm that she captured in writing. Her prose is effervescent and joyful, you can almost feel her exuberance, like the bubbles of a champagne glass popping at the surface. This is definitely writing by someone in love, which is beautiful. It is what I chose to focus on as I read this book, as it cannot (for me, at least) be enjoyed the way one enjoys a traditional novel. The plot, such as it is, is linear, but often does enormous times jumps and some events are simply unexplained or incredibly surreal. But that is not the point.
I am just someone who reads because I love books, and words, and ideas - and not an English lit major; a book like “Orlando” is a riot of beautiful words and ideas, but it was difficult for me to lose myself in it. It was too abstract and too experimental. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, or appreciate the literary arabesque Woolf was performing with her mercurial titular character, but simply that it is not the escapism I needed.
I do love the reflection on identity, on the arbitrariness of gender roles, on the violence of feelings, on the way we feel like entire eras pass us by in the blink of an eye as we get older. I empathized with those ideas very strongly, and felt Orlando’s restlessness and passion, the disappointments, the urge to run far away and then to come back home. But I do wish it had been more structured – I know, I know, silly to expect that of Virginia Woolf, but I wonder if my brain is simply too cartesian for streams of consciousness and experimental flourishes. I can appreciate it and recognize its brilliance, and it’s innovative and unrestrained appeal, but they often feel more like work than pure reading pleasure.
Still 4 stars, because it’s both a delightful romp through time, because the words are gorgeously selected and strung together and because I find this sort of reading experiences rather humbling.
What I really noticed this time around was the barely contained enthusiasm that she captured in writing. Her prose is effervescent and joyful, you can almost feel her exuberance, like the bubbles of a champagne glass popping at the surface. This is definitely writing by someone in love, which is beautiful. It is what I chose to focus on as I read this book, as it cannot (for me, at least) be enjoyed the way one enjoys a traditional novel. The plot, such as it is, is linear, but often does enormous times jumps and some events are simply unexplained or incredibly surreal. But that is not the point.
I am just someone who reads because I love books, and words, and ideas - and not an English lit major; a book like “Orlando” is a riot of beautiful words and ideas, but it was difficult for me to lose myself in it. It was too abstract and too experimental. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, or appreciate the literary arabesque Woolf was performing with her mercurial titular character, but simply that it is not the escapism I needed.
I do love the reflection on identity, on the arbitrariness of gender roles, on the violence of feelings, on the way we feel like entire eras pass us by in the blink of an eye as we get older. I empathized with those ideas very strongly, and felt Orlando’s restlessness and passion, the disappointments, the urge to run far away and then to come back home. But I do wish it had been more structured – I know, I know, silly to expect that of Virginia Woolf, but I wonder if my brain is simply too cartesian for streams of consciousness and experimental flourishes. I can appreciate it and recognize its brilliance, and it’s innovative and unrestrained appeal, but they often feel more like work than pure reading pleasure.
Still 4 stars, because it’s both a delightful romp through time, because the words are gorgeously selected and strung together and because I find this sort of reading experiences rather humbling.
hannahmw's review against another edition
4.0
When no one questions your immortality so you can just vibe