Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

7 reviews

alexblais8's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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ireadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book caught me from the very first page, the language was beautiful and it brought me to worlds I had not visited before - but would love to see again. Woolf is controversial and has a lot of strange opinions, but the fact that somebody so long ago can adress gender in such a complicated way was a positive surprise to me.

turns out this is a lesbian love story and that filled my heart with joy
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issyd23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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

3.0

Virginia Woolf really said ‘trans rights’. Endlessly quotable. Orlando’s just a gal who really loves nature and her dogs 3🐕 
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avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

"I am sick to death of this particular self. I want another."

Orlando, who was born as a man in the 16th century, lives 400 years and dies as a woman in 1928, when Virginia Woolf finished writing the book Orlando. 
Virginia Woolf wrote this novel essentially as a love letter to her lover, Vita Sackville-West, who resembles Orlando. But Orlando is not just an homage, it is so much more. It is miles ahead of its time: exploring gender identity, addressing queer love, and questioning gender roles including men’s position of power in the 18th and 19th centuries - Orlando shows the fluidity and flexibility of time and gender. Orlando depicts love and loss and beauty in both. In addition, Virginia Woolf paints beautiful pictures with her detailed descriptions of nature and landscapes. 
I loved reading about Woolf’s ideas and hypotheses about gender, time, love, and evolving and growing as a person. The only thing that interfered with the reading experience was the racially offensive language that was ever present. 
I also want to note that it can be difficult at times to follow Woolf's stream of consciousness if you are not familiar with her writing style. 
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mmirjamm's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Just gonna start with the fact that like many things labeled as subversive and full of subtext *for its time*, it's just frantically racist. Spare yourself that if you want. And most of the transgressive queerness is vanilla and silly if you're not living in a pretty repressed portion of 1928.

Like many things occupied with being literature and saying things of importance, the book doesn't have much in the way of characters or plot, but it's not really about either of those things, it's about wry social commentary from a position that doesn't recognize itself as privileged and blinkered, and it's pretty good at being that? I'd never noticed that Douglas Adams had some very Virginia Woolf rhythms before, anyway. And a rewrite that dealt with the fact that this is in fact a sci-fi novel would be fascinating. 
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sioned_warren's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

There is a moderate use of derogatory language and views to minorities in this book and the use of slurs of which include the n-word. I wasn’t warned or told about this before buying or reading so I would like to warn especially black people that use of those slurs are in there. This knowledge is then up to you if you wish to read the book. 
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