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A review by spriteluver
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
books with themes of duality and elusiveness will ALWAYS enamor me, okay!!! this was SUCH an excellent book, it was so funny and introspective and just WHIMSICAL. this is the product of virginia woolf's lifetime, and she fully knew it as she wrote, which is why we see literature nearly reminiscent of flesh, of human livelihood, and human livelihood basically OUTSIDE of flesh; that constant grapple to confine human existence and put it on the page an impossible task fully recognized within orlando's narrative. society is nothing, but it is everything, as well as our souls and our bodies; it all changes with time, and that makes sense enough given the world's rapid changes between 1880 to 1928. so many subtle insights into human existence with truths that still stand today (woolf had to know it was timeless indeed), just proving how much literature is a testament to existence. that's easy enough to say, but we readers are left to FEEL it, ok!? the sort of rambling, roundabout, magical metaphors and writing style is meant to embody the mind of orlando as much as the biography itself--because, really, what is the difference between writer and character, if all existence felt and observed remains confined in one mind (the writer) but recognized by all (the reader)!? AHHHHH!
more to analyze because i have thoughts thoughts thoughts (so scroll past if you're sick of me already):
So let’s continue the comparison between author and work, right? Because words on the page translate the soul as much as human existence. A book with its duality and elusiveness FULLY gains such themes from the expression of queerness, which always exists outside of the realm of society with recognition and defiance. Only when understanding society through the looking glass can one so easily defy it, single out its contradictions, and ironically paint a perfect picture of the changing times. it just makes SO MUCH SENSE that this came out in the 1920s, which we all know for the notorious lifestyles and gender ambiguity (even woolf singles out the change in makeup and dress across the centuries as orlando saw it). Art cannot be separated from artist or time; orlando is a testament to the life woolf lived herself, and there are so many glimpses into who she was. SHE PUT PICTURES OF HER GAY LOVER AS THE FACE OF HER TRANS PROTAGONIST! Vita sackville-west will be commemorated forever in dedication, photo, and in the spirit of orlando. The “biography” itself is a love story that has persevered a century by now. Is that not one of the most powerful expressions of Love, so hardly defined but always looming over us!? Queerness has ALWAYS existed and will ALWAYS exist, and to have an author put that so eloquently on the page to be read FOREVER is just too meaningful to bear.
A QUEER ESSENTIAL!!!! READ THIS, DIGEST ITS WORDS, FALL INTO ITS MAGIC!!!!
more to analyze because i have thoughts thoughts thoughts (so scroll past if you're sick of me already):
So let’s continue the comparison between author and work, right? Because words on the page translate the soul as much as human existence. A book with its duality and elusiveness FULLY gains such themes from the expression of queerness, which always exists outside of the realm of society with recognition and defiance. Only when understanding society through the looking glass can one so easily defy it, single out its contradictions, and ironically paint a perfect picture of the changing times. it just makes SO MUCH SENSE that this came out in the 1920s, which we all know for the notorious lifestyles and gender ambiguity (even woolf singles out the change in makeup and dress across the centuries as orlando saw it). Art cannot be separated from artist or time; orlando is a testament to the life woolf lived herself, and there are so many glimpses into who she was. SHE PUT PICTURES OF HER GAY LOVER AS THE FACE OF HER TRANS PROTAGONIST! Vita sackville-west will be commemorated forever in dedication, photo, and in the spirit of orlando. The “biography” itself is a love story that has persevered a century by now. Is that not one of the most powerful expressions of Love, so hardly defined but always looming over us!? Queerness has ALWAYS existed and will ALWAYS exist, and to have an author put that so eloquently on the page to be read FOREVER is just too meaningful to bear.
A QUEER ESSENTIAL!!!! READ THIS, DIGEST ITS WORDS, FALL INTO ITS MAGIC!!!!