I loved Mrs Dalloway when I read it a few years ago, but I did say it was a book that I would have to reread to appreciate. Because of that I waited, 5 years, before picking up any more of Woolf’s work and… I’m so glad I waited.
Orlando is a book that requires patience. It’s a book that required me to slow down my reading to fully bask in the beauty that it is. I think having a few more years on me also helped comprehend and appreciate her grasp and use of language. She is a genius. I love her. This book has changed me, it has changed how I will read from now on. I just cannot verbalise how amazing it is.
I actually read this twice; the second time straight after the first because I didn’t feel like I took enough out of it the first time around. I read a different edition (I have a mass market paperback sized edition which isn’t nearly as pretty) and actually annotated it – this is a huge thing, I hate to write in a book but it was beautiful to do that. To just fully appreciate her writing and put my own thoughts in the margins, highlighting the bits that stood out to me. A second read made me notice how vividly she describes colours and textures; the first chapter/section has far too many references to the colour green but never once is it repetitive and God – this woman!
Reading this book once is not enough to take everything away from it; it’s just so complex. I know that I can’t write about it and do it justice. I will however, briefly gloss over the general gist; Orlando begins the novel as a man (He – for there could be no doubt of his sex) in Elizabethan England; by the end, Orlando is a married woman in the 1920s.
It is just sublime, there are no other words for it. The experience I had reading this was transformative; it is already changing how I approach books and what I take away from them. I will reread it again in future and make further notes with a different colour, for sure as it is – undoubtedly – a book that with every reading I will take more away from. Read it. 5/5.
Love this so much. Thanks for sharing the wonderful review! Never read Orlando, but I loved Mrs. Dalloway. Either way, if you’re ever interested in some other awesome book reviews and musings, be sure to follow! Thanks!
I am very excited to read this novel now! I need to find a copy from somewhere and get on to it pronto. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Well, gosh, I’m glad you read this novel!! It sounds incredible. I can’t wait to pick it up and read it at some point.
This is seriously *my book*. It wasn’t the easiest of starts, it was quite slow and took me some time to get going but… I’ve fallen hard for it. And Virginia.
After this book, my dream is to have a house with a library (a room of ones own, naturally), and a Labrador called Virginia. Serious life goal.
Those sound like admirable life goals tbh.