Three's a Company

From the beginning, I’ve really enjoyed reading The Hours. I’m not sure if it is the cadence of the writing or the three different narratives, but Michael Cunningham’s twist on Mrs. Dalloway and Virginia Woolf’s life has kept me captivated thus far. The most interesting part of The Hours is Cunningham’s attempt to get into the mind of Virginia Woolf. In the passages about “Mrs. Woolf”, Cunningham makes Woolf less of a literary icon and more of a person. Personally, I knew nothing about Virginia Woolf (aside from the drowning with rocks part) before this novel. The tidbits of information about her husband and servants, as well as her relation with her family, are all new to me. I already admired Virginia Woolf for her amazing writing abilities, but I find it easier to understand the complexity of her work through learning more about the author herself. Besides the “Mrs. Woolf” sections of Cunningham’s book, the “Mrs. Dalloway” sections are pretty interesting. I enjoy looking for the connections and little details Cunningham swiped from Mrs. Dalloway to add to his book. So far, I like Cunningham’s plot twist to Virginia Woolf’s original work, and the application of the same story to a different time and place. While “Mrs. Dalloway” lives in Virginia Woolf’s plot, the additional character of Laura Brown adds another aspect to the book. Laura Brown is the futuristic reader of Mrs. Dalloway that we as readers watch drink in Virginia Woolf’s writing. I like how Cunningham has the narration of Laura Brown, wondering how Woolf could write such pretty lines and then commit suicide, and Virginia Woolf’s narration providing the process of her writing and the constant present of headaches. And, since Cunningham’s first chapter is Woolf’s suicide, the structure of Cunningham’s chapters leaves me wondering what is going to happen to cause Woolf’s suicide and why she finally gives in. I’m enjoying The Hours so far, I’ll have to wait and see how it ends.