This is really not an appealing book at all. The only parts that are even vaguely interesting are the bits about Virginia Woolf. The exploration of an insane person's mind is actually really interesting, similar to how the only good part of Mrs. Dalloway was Septimus. I find Clarrisa Vaughan's chapters to simply be a rehashing of Mrs. Dalloway to the point that it feels like I'm simply rereading Mrs. Dalloway but in a different setting. Mrs. Brown is somewhat interesting but she really just sounds annoying (probably what Cunningham wants to sound like because she is pregnant) but reading about a whiny hormonal housewife isn't really my kind of thing. Also is it just me or does Mrs. Brown seem almost bipolar? one second she is anguishing about her son and wanting to ditch him the next she's filled with a "spasm of love" (79).
One of the worst parts of this book so far is the seeming lack of point in both the novel itself and in our act of reading the book. It seems to mostly just be a clone of Mrs. Dalloway, which we already read, so what is the point of reading The Hours?
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2 comments:
I agree with you! I feel like this book is just another representation of Mrs. Dallowy, except in present day perspective. Although, I don't feel like their lives even really connect with he original characters! I'm at a loss exaclty what to say about this book, other than I am quite confused and don't see any "deeper" meanings.
Lobo,
I'm sorry you're finding this a difficult read, but I appreciate your willingness to stick with it (I still hold out hope that that persistence will be rewarded). Obviously, as with "Flaubert's Parrot," we're reading this in part to see if it can enhance our understanding of "Mrs. Dalloway." Perhaps if you keep an eye not simply on how the plot and characters seem to be replicated in "The Hours," but on the thematic tilt of the previous novel, your reading will become more rewarding. In the meantime, what's with this dis on pregnant women? (I'm sure your own mother wasn't made 'whiny' or 'hormonal' just by carrying you to term!).
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