Recommendation: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
November 26th, 2006 by lrc
Three women in different times, different places, and different points of view are all connected by the book Mrs. Dalloway. Virginia Woolf writes the book, a veteran’s housewife reads it in 1949, and a modern day New Yorker is nicknamed “Mrs. Dalloway” by a former lover. But these women share deep connections: uncertainty, mental illness, and suicide are unavoidable forces that push their lives out of control.
Did you enjoy the movie? The book is even better!
“You don’t have to go to the party. You don’t have to go to the ceremony. You don’t have to do anything at all.”
“But there are still the hours, aren’t there? One and then another, and you get through that one and then, my god, there’s another.”
Depressing? Oh, god yes. But the book won the Pulitzer Prize (1999) and the movie won an Oscar (Best Actress, 2003). It’s a good book!
Recommended by Sara, Reference Librarian
2 Responses to “Recommendation: The Hours by Michael Cunningham”
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My name is Ilse De Rop and I’m a belgian final year journalism student. For my English class I had to read an English novel. I read ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham and I truly loved it. It’s a beautiful book and incredibly emotional. The fact that Cunningham uses the life and work of Virginia Woolf is very particular and the interwoven stories make the book unbelievably powerful.
I would highly recommend ‘The Hours’, it’s an excellent book. ‘The Hours’ is most certainly not a happy book with a happy ending, but I guess I knew this already before I started reading the book. Nevertheless I loved the book and the three main characters. Now that I’ve read ‘The Hours’ I’m thinking about reading ‘Mrs. Dalloway’. Did you read ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ by Virginia Woolf? I would love for you to give me some feedback about what you think about ‘The Hours’. Should I also see the film? I read some opposite opinions on several discussion boards. And if possible, can you give me some advice about ‘Mrs. Dalloway’, wether I should read the book or not?
I hope you are willing to give me a short answer to my questions. You would do me a great pleasure. Thank you in advance for your anwer.
Hello Ilse,
I saw the movie “The Hours” before I read the book. I enjoyed the movie, but the book was better. Of course, I believe that most books are better than the movies.
I have not read “Mrs. Dalloway,” yet, but it is on my list.
Happy reading!
~Sara