Hours of Pain (The Hours - Michael Cunningham)

Member Name: nedrichards

Product:	The Hours - Michael Cunningham
Date:	16/11/00 (406 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has a very nice cover in this hardback edition.

Disadvantages: A good idea poorly executed

This book is "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham, I chose it as I was reading Virgina Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" at the same time, a book whose origional title was "The Hours" and because I thought that "Mrs Dalloway" was a great piece of literature and I wanted to see how another writer responded to this genius. Needless to say I was very disapointed.

It is a sad day for literature when a book this poor wins the Pulitzer prize. This book is 'inspired' by Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway' a classic of the modern canon. It attempts to 'update' the story setting it in the 50's, in the present and in the mind of Woolf as she wrote the book. The only part of the story which even mildly convinces is the part about Woolf, which is well observed and intelligent. The other sections betray a complete lack of narrative drive resulting from characterisation, Woolf's major technique. The characters are blocky and stereotypical, betraying the text. I now hear that it is due to be made into a film. This is probably a good idea as it feels like something that would work on screen, probably better than on the page, and certainly after a decent writer has adapted it.

I apologise for the shortness of this review but this really is a very poor book, so bad that there isn't an awful lot to say, except please don't buy it.

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