THE HOURS

by Michael Cunningham



"The Hours is the story of three women: Clarissa Vaughn, who one New York morning goes about planning a party in honor of a beloved friend; Laura Brown, who in a 1950s Los Angeles suburb slowly begins to feel the constraints of a perfect family and home; and Virginia Woolf, recuperating with her husband in a London suburb and beginning to write Mrs. Dalloway. By the end of the novel, the stories have intertwined and finally come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace." (From the CD container.)

I have a sneaky suspicion that I would have appreciated Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway even more if I would have read Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours first. I know that seems backwards. They're not the same story, but the thematic resemblances are such that I think I would have been able to follow Mrs. Dalloway more effectively. Cunningham captures the stream-of-consciousness feel without the leaving you wondering what on earth you just read, making those very themes a little easier to tease out.

I know I was left a little in the dust by this book because I listened to it while battling a particularly wicked case of bronchitis, and high doses of cough/cold medicine occasionally transformed this work into merely beautiful words floating randomly around my subconscious. I did gather enough for The Hours to end with me marveling not only at its solemn dignity, but also that of Mrs. Dalloway.