shara
It could have been 20% shorter and it would have been perfect. That said, its a beautifully written book. If you're expecting much in terms of plot then it's pretty basic but you dont read an 800 page literary fiction book for just plot, do you? Apart from being a rumination on marriage, country life, society, existentialism, money problems- ya know all things life, its also an excellent portraiture of life in Russia in that era. It paints a vivid picture of the people and place and transports you to that culture at ease.
The last two parts are what it a masterpiece I think -
Reading about Anna's fights with Vronksy triggered my (non serious) PTSD of my parents inchorent power struggles turned to mind games. And as much as I've always been aware of it, I never read any book that did so much justice in exploring unhappy marriages as this book did but thats tmi, sorry.
I really enjoyed Levin's meditations in the last part quite a lot, especially about over analyzing or reasoning meaning of life vs. living that life with good intentions. It kind of reminded of Mann's Magic Moutain where he just skies around the same mountain in circle in futility and thats meant to be analogy for philosophizing life. But this book illustrates that so much better imo.
I picked this book up because I just finished To The Lighthouse (TTL) last week and loved it SO much that I decided im gonna read all of Woolfs notable works immediately. Ill still read her other books but not with that urgency anymore.
Orlando was clearly for its time very progressive and there are pieces of the book that are just poetic but ITS SUCH A BORE. TTL is book that happens mostly in the characters inner minds but still is packed with so much substance and characters you can relate to. This book has a vague plot too, though especially towards the end, it just meanders in circles with no meaning. At the end, I didn't care for Orlando as a person either, she just seemed like part of the privileged English society that try as much I might, I cannot relate.
What a beautiful book. Woolf writes prose like poetry and the subject matter is so personal. Ill be honest, it took me almost 80 pages to really get into it but once you get into the rhythm of it, its such a kind and giving book.
Woolf talks about nature of reality, love, death in the most beautiful way. And all this is done in such a mundane setting too. Its a story about you and me. Not heroes and villains and journeys. Its about human relationships and regular people.
I've always believed every person has a rich internal experience and this book does a brilliant job of encapsulating that.
After 4 longest months of my life, I finally finished GR. I named this summer "The Summer of Pynchon".
Pynchon is clearly a good writer, there are pieces of his writing that are probably some of the best I've read, if not the best. The Poekler chapter is one of the most poignant things I've read. Buttt, and this is a huge but, theres so much nonsense writing to get through to get there. The pay off is just not worth it. I feel like atleast 30% of the book should have been edited out. This was clearly written at a time when everybody was doing coke - the writer, the editor, the publisher and it shows.
Ill probably try reading Pychon, maybe his newer stuff but I need atleast 3 years to cleanse my pallett.
If you like snarky literary prose, this book is for you. Thats the main reason I picked it up anyway. I love smart mouth protagnists, especially if they are telling the story.
The plot is great, the characters lovable and the book is pretty self aware. I wish there was more random mental ramblings and less excruciating war strategy details. Although that may just be me. Still gonna read the next book!