Orlando (Penguin Modern Classics)

A remarkable book - almost one hundred years ago VW was way ahead of the crowd in thinking about perceptions of self being so, so different between women and men...absorbing.

This was an interesting and, for its day, I suppose daring experiment in writing, and I admire Virginia Woolf for having the courage to publish it. For me, it succeeds for about three-quarters of its length, but then as Orlando approaches the modern day it rather loses its way. But even so I've read it more than once and will probably read it again, thinking of it as a product of its own times.

I cannot find the words to comment on this it. It is sensitive, beautiful and feels as if it has been written for me personally and indeed anyone who reads it will feel the same. A work of such genius which leaves me speechless

Have been meaning to read this renowned novel for years so was pleased to find it at an offer price. Very glad I didn't part with the full price. After paging through about 40 pages of pretentious pseudo-academic twaddle I have finally found page 1 of chapter 1. My kindle tells me I am 17% thorough the book and I haven't yet read a word of the novel. Well here goes.......

The story though complex, is largely irrelevant, as is much of Virginia Woolf's writing. What counts is the delicate description of form, feeling and atmosphere. In this she is a master. The book delights from beginning to end. One could compare it to Dorian Gray in the longevity of the protagonist but where Gray is sexual, Orlando is sensual. He/she is a delightful creation. I loved this book!

Virginia Wolfs's novel is a not much coded love letter to Vita Sackville-West, and the story is as much a history of the Sackville home as it is a fantasy of how Virginia imagined Vita. It's quite a gripping story, a sort of fairy tale for adults.

The story is an interesting reflection on the relative positions,and attitudes,of men and women in society.to look at this problem through different Eras,and from both sides of gender,Orlando has a stretched time scale: she ages but 15 years in an 80 year period,then is reincarnated as a male,and exists in succeeding centuries,to see the different attitudes as time passes.

I MUST be missing something. I am widely read, am in the middle of a degree in literature, and all of a sudden as part of my studies I have to read this mindless drivel. I can only guess that it is a kind of Emperors New Clothes test, where they see if you just blindly agree that because a famous author(es) wrote it, it must be good. The plot, if you call it such, is of a man who lives the first half of his life courting women and having numerous affairs, with very little else happening, aside from a continuing struggle to write a poem. Suddenly he wakes up one morning with the body and mind of a woman. She then survives for many hundreds of years, yet is only around 35 years old herself. She marries, the husband instantly leaving to sail to the Horn, and well over a year later she suddenly gives birth to a child whilst looking out of the window. Bored yet? You will be. Had it not been a requirement of my next course to study this utter rubbish, I would have put it down unfinished a long time ago. All I am left with now is the feeling of having been cheated out of several hours of my life, and the hope that I will be able to avoid having to study it in any greater detail when that part of the course comes round. Without doubt the very worst book I have ever had the displeasure of reading.

Bom

What a hoot. Really enjoyed the fantasy. Very different and entertaining

condition: AAA speed of delivery: AAA

It took me far too long to finish it (around a year and a half, something that rarely happens) It's not a bad book and I love the idea behind it but unfortunately it's not my kind of book

Servizio impeccabile come sempre, libro di ottima fattura, caratteri leggermente piccoli, ma per il prezzo irrisorio non si potrebbe chiedere di meglio