Brain Pain discussion

Orlando, Virginia Woolf’s sixth novel, was published in 1928. Woolf’s books are now in the public domain. Orlando, and her other books, may be found on Project Gutenberg and similar sites.


Wikipedia page for Virginia Woolf:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia...


Wikipedia page for Orlando (spoilers):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando:...


A short documentary about Woolf:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hnls...


An excellent biography by Hermione Lee:

Virginia Woolf


Feel free to use this thread to ask questions and post links to resources for Virginia Woolf and Orlando.

Also, if you’ve written a review of the book, please post a link to share with the group.

I saw the movie with Tilda Swinton in it, back in the 90s: IMDB.

I'm very pleased to have been prodded into re-reading this book which I first/last read back eons ago when I was 17. At that time the plot twists were rather alarming and incomprehensible to me (I was a bit of a teenage prude).

This time - many and various experiences later - I elected to read Elizabeth Bowen's Afterword (Signet Classic) before launching into the novel anew. Am I glad I did. Not only did I identify with her youthful perplexity that she described as her own initial reading, but I felt much better-armed with a liberating and useful approach to Woolf's unique novel. I'm about a third of the way through and learning to just enjoy the story and the written flow, informed by Bowen's recommendation that I just relax so Woolf can let her writerly hair down for once.

Rebecca wrote: "I'm very pleased to have been prodded into re-reading this book which I first/last read back eons ago when I was 17. At that time the plot twists were rather alarming and incomprehensible to me (I..."

Good advice! Glad you're enjoying the reread. I first read Orlando more than 30 years ago, so it was all new to me...

I'm only a few pages from the end and wish it would continue, but oh well. I'm enjoying the descriptions of nature and color, throughout.

I hope you are are enjoying this. I finished a brief review of the book recently.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mkfs wrote: "I saw the movie with Tilda Swinton in it, back in the 90s: IMDB."

Just watched it tonight. Liked it. Thx for calling it to my attention, Mkfs. It has been a few years since I read Orlando and doubt I'll get to it with you all, but am visiting the discussions. I did pull my copy and a library copy and may just look at the commentaries for now.

Review for Orlando:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I actually started reading Orlando all over when there were like 20 pages left because I felt I wasn't doing it justice for I was rushing to finish it ever since the beginning... anyway, here goes my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I was thinking about Woolf's A Room of One's Own recently and I thought I'd analyze my bookshelves.

I currently have 2035 books shelved.
302 are by women, or 14.8%

Of those 302, only 6 were written prior to the 19th century.

For my shelves, books by women during the 19th century: 13

For books written in the 20th and 21st century I have 1569 on my shelves, 283 by women, or 18%.

Interesting stats to ponder...

Woolf on biography:

"In one of her essays on biography, 'Lives of the Obscure,' Virginia Woolf writes that 'one likes romantically to feel oneself a deliverer advancing with lights across the waste of years to the rescue of some stranded ghost...waiting, appealing, forgotten, in the growing gloom.'"

As quoted in All We Know: Three Lives by Lisa Cohen, p5.

In my teenage Virginia Woolf-reading phase I read "A Room of One's Own" with great attention and, surprisingly, now that I think of it, little indignation. Her major premise in this essay (I think it was originally written as an address to some august body, probably all male?) struck me so forcefully that whenever I run across mention of historic women writers like Christine de Pisan (Widowed at age 25 in 1390 with 3 children she supported by writing - yikes! Ever tried to just READ with the care of 3 children, let alone WRITE?) or Aphra Behn (also cited in "Room") I just marvel to imagine the strength of vision and discipline these people possessed.

Just started 'Orlando' tonight....

my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

aPriL eVoLvEs (ex-Groot) wrote: "my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

A great perspective! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Jim!