Young Writers Society

A very poorly written review on The Hours by Michael Cunningham. Please do not crit the writing itself, just read the damn book. So here we go:

The Hours
By Michael Cunningham [for the third time, remember it]

Possibly the best book I've ever read, aside from Acacia [who's review shall soon be posted as well].
The Hours is full of strong language, offensive sexual material, and basically everything needed in a masterpeice.

For those who have not heard or read it, shame on you! The basic plot: The Hours is a trio, three stories which start out copletely unrelated and weaves together to form one in the end.
The first story is of Clarissa, a middle-age bisexual women, taking care of a novelist, Richard, who hears voices and has AIDS. Clarissa has a daughter, and a partner, but Richard is the most important part of her life. Richard depends on her for everything, being a passionate vegetable and unable to cope with the idea that he has failed both as a writer and as a lover to Clarissa, whom he doting calls "Mrs. Dalloway", after Woolf's most famous novel.

The second story is of Virginia Woolf herself, in where she, like Richard, deals with manic-depression and a mild case of pskitzophrenia [however you spell it]. Based on the writer's real life, Virginia battles with the voices in her head she calls the Headache, and the many suicidal thoughts that filter through her mind.

The third and final story is of the plain Mrs. Brown. She is a fanatical reader of Woolf's works, wishing constantly she herself was born to greatness. Instead, she is a timid homemaker.

As the story begins to connect, you will begin to see how the peices fit.[spoiler] Mrs. Brown is Richard's mother, who departs his family after attempting to commit suicide. Richard is supposed to go to a party, where he is to recieve a small award for his poetry. He does not want to go, believing he is only recieving the award because he survived AIDS. So, while Clarissa watches, unable to stop him, Richard jumps off the window ledge of his apartment building. Clarissa and Mrs. Brown meet at what was supposed to have been Richard's after-party.

Virginia Woolf's role does not inherently play into these two, but you can see how her work and life deeply affected the other two. She, too, kills herself--filling her pockets with stones and throwing herself vigorously into the river. [/spoiler]
It may seem morbid, and to a certain extent, it is exactly that. But it is more than just about suicide and sexuality. There is a deeper, darker mystic to the whole book, one that will draw you into its depths. The way Cunningham writes will turn your heart. It will make you weep for Woolf's pathetic life, scream at Richard's disturbed sense of reality, and hit yourself for many hours over Clarissa's loss over Richard far before his actual death.

You must read this book.

I READ IT! OMG, I actually finished it this THURSDAY! I am watching the movie tomorrow!

Here's my view on it:

The first three-fourths were kind of too deep and too tedious in its emotions. I mean, how many emotions can a woman have in a single day?

Then, starting with when Virignia travels to London, everything started to go faster and I started to see the meaning. I loved it! The climax was so weird. You know what I mean! I never would have expected it.

So I am pretty excited for the movie.

Not the best book ever, but it certainly was the most introspective one, in a good way. I agree, it's a must-read. Don't get bored by all the details and all the feelings, because evrything in that book says something about humankind, from homsexuality (which there was A LOT of in this book), to suicide (also A LOT), to love and loyalty.

The feelings were pretty mixed, I agree. I saw the movie, and it's a bit different from the book, so dont be disappointed. Its very good, of course.

Maybe you should put a spoiler mark before you give the ending and the climax and all that,,,,and the important parts, I mean.

I spoilered the ending, since the beginning is on the cover of my book.