Name: Orlando (Penguin Modern Classics)
ISBN: 9780141184272

Virginia Woolf

First masculine, then feminine, Orlando begins life as a young sixteenth-century nobleman, then gallops through the centuries to end up as a woman writer in Virginia Woolf's own time. Written for the charismatic, bisexual writer Vita Sackville-West, this playful mock biography of a chameleon-like historical figure is both a wry commentary on gender and, in Woolf's own words, a 'writer's holiday' which delights in its ambiguity and capriciousness.

Orlando (Penguin Modern Classics)

Has the finger of death to be laid on the tumult of life from time to time lest it rend us asunder? Are we so made that we have to take death in small doses daily or we could not go on with the business of living?

sofia 🪆

Draculelle

Francesca 

Elena Menendez

He loved, beneath all this summer transiency, to feel the earth's spine beneath him; 

he felt the need of something which he could attach his floating heart to; the heart that tugged at his side; the heart that seemed filled with spiced and amorous gales every evening about this time when he walked out. 

For the philosopher is right who says that nothing thicker than a knife's blade separates happiness from melancholy; 

all extremes of feeling are allied to madness

Ransack the language as he might, words failed him. He wanted another landscape, and another tongue. English was too frank, too candid, too honeyed a speech  

It was the fatal nature of this disease to substitute a phantom for reality, so that Orlando, to whom fortune had given every git plate, linen, houses, men-servants, carpets, beds in profusion had only to open a book for the whole vast accumulation to turn to mist.

So it was, and Orlando would sit by himself, reading, a naked man. 

And here we may profit by a pause in his soliloquy to reflect how odd it was to see Orlando stretched there on his elbow on a June day and to reflect that this fine fellow with all his faculties about him and a healthy body, witness cheeks and limbs - a man who never thought twice about heading a charge or fighting a duel - should be so subject to the lethargy of thought, and rendered so susceptible by it, that when it came to a question of poetry, or his own competence in it, he was as shy as a little girl behind her mother's cottage door. 

And he despaired of being able to solve the problem of what poetry is and what truth is and fell into a deep dejection.

while fame impedes and constricts, obscurity wraps about a man like a mist; obscurity is dark, ample, and free; obscurity lets the mind take its way unimpeded. 

Over the obscure man is poured the merciful suffusion of darkness. 

Better was it to go unknown and leave behind you an arch, a potting shed, a wall where peaches ripen, than to burn like a meteor and leave no dust. 

'A million candles’, as Sasha had said, burnt in him without his being at the trouble of lighting a single one. 

But let other pens treat of sex and sexuality; we quit such odious subjects as soon as we can. 

Virginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality.

As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart.

Public Domain (P)2022 Spotify Audiobooks

Orlando

martian1138

ayoni

Tilda Swinton

jumped of joy when orlando FINALLY became a woman

Stas

Such a breath of fresh air. Incredibly witty and original. The most beautiful love letter I've ever read.

"But the truth is that when we write of a woman, everything is out of place."

Gemma

Such a breath of fresh air. Incredibly witty and original. The most beautiful love letter I've ever read.

"But the truth is that when we write of a woman, everything is out of place."

there has to be something i didnt understand 

Klerri

weird good weird. felt like woolf was beating me over the head with the gender-bending thing. imn it's a worthy pursuit the exploration of identity but the narrative felt heavy-handed. overarching maybe. will reread. 

weli 

weird good weird. felt like woolf was beating me over the head with the gender-bending thing. imn it's a worthy pursuit the exploration of identity but the narrative felt heavy-handed. overarching maybe. will reread. 




This is not my first time reading this book, but every time I do, I'm reminded of how much I love it. 

Woolf was far ahead of her time, writing about complex women's, queer, and political issues. I think the beauty of her books is particularly in the language she uses. It's deep and meaningful but funny, as well. Orlando takes on a mischievous air and the statire in the narration is really comical. I like how one moment you go from laughing at a quip from the narrator one moment to contemplating the meaning of life in the next. 

Paige Leitner

This is not my first time reading this book, but every time I do, I'm reminded of how much I love it. 

Woolf was far ahead of her time, writing about complex women's, queer, and political issues. I think the beauty of her books is particularly in the language she uses. It's deep and meaningful but funny, as well. Orlando takes on a mischievous air and the statire in the narration is really comical. I like how one moment you go from laughing at a quip from the narrator one moment to contemplating the meaning of life in the next. 

In her most exuberant, most fanciful novel, Woolf has created a character liberated from the restraints of time and sex. Born in the Elizabethan Age to wealth and position, Orlando is a young nobleman at the beginning of the story-and a modern woman three centuries later. “A poetic masterpiece of the first rank” (Rebecca West). The source of a critically acclaimed 1993 feature film directed by Sally Potter. Index; illustrations.

A Biography

Sarah Sammis

For a week, the life and times or Orlando was my background. I listened while painting, while doing chores, while working on puzzles before bed. Most of that week was spent slogging through the early eras of Orlando's life — the time as a boy and as a young man of means.

Things turned around for me in the chapter where Orlando is transformed from man to woman during a lengthy coma. While this transformation scene is the first overtly magical one in the novel, there's already a hint that things aren't right. Orlando's early adulthood — late twenties, and early thirties — take way more years than what he ages.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

Privileged	Uhoria	Labyrinth	00CC99

Riley

Kendall McClain

Ahead of its time!! I was imagining Vita Sackville-West reading this and it was so cute I love it

"feminist"/love story version of parody books like crying of lot 49..

jack

i’m not a huge fan of the project woolf undertakes with this (especially compared to her fascinating, realistic personal dramas which are right up my alley), but woolf’s wit and grace are undeniable—even here. there are more than a dozen passages of perfection here. by no means /the/ woolf, but really proves just how strong she is.

Clay Carey

Bailee Strong

One day I’ll unpack the whole “I’ve become a woman and can love women deeper than a man ever could” concept for myself

To be honest I'm not sure if I fully understand the message of the book... Quite sure I didn't, but it was nice, I enjoyed it.

LIMEKI 

Laura Mauler

This is 327 pages of description and not a single paragraph of plot. There is nothing that happens, and when it seems like the author might be about to make something happen (for example, when Orlando joins a tribe of gypsies) it gets lost in a fog of inner dialogue and grand description, and suddenly the reader finds that whatever might have happened is over without ever materializing. Also, two of the more intriguing promises on the back cover - that Orlando goes from man to woman and lives for 300 years - are not addressed satisfactorily, if at all. The gender change occurs in some mystical fashion that involves Truth and Chastity, and while the change occupies a great deal of the rest of the book the how-and-why is never addressed at all. The longevity issue is only directly mentioned in the following way: a bunch of blah blah blah about a poem she's been working on, then the sentences "She turned back to the first page and read the date, 1586, written in her own boyish hand. She had been working at it for close on three hundred years now", and then moving on to the changes she made in the poem. That's it! The author seems to have thrown in sex changes and immortality just for the hell of it, and in no way attempts to give context or understanding to the reader. Lots of boring descriptions about London, yes. Plot or coherent use of literary devices, no.

I really enjoyed this. I struggle with Woolf's style of writing so it took me a while to read through, but I did get a pretty good sense of the story.

I think a read through in future I'd necessary for me because I know I missed things. That being said, the prose writing throughout was amazing and I loved all the references and reflections on nature, I empathized with Orlando the most about this

Emma Lechner

I really enjoyed this. I struggle with Woolf's style of writing so it took me a while to read through, but I did get a pretty good sense of the story.

I think a read through in future I'd necessary for me because I know I missed things. That being said, the prose writing throughout was amazing and I loved all the references and reflections on nature, I empathized with Orlando the most about this

Klára Kováčiková 

Michael Springer

6 January 2011
Dear Michael,

I hope you don't forget about me when school starts again. You shan't? Right?

Love,

Goodreads





















 6th February 2011
Dear Michael,

Ummmm..................hello?


Sincerely,

Goodreads














































 22 February 2011

Michael,

WTF, douchebag?

Sincerely,

Goodreads
































 2 March 2011

Dearest Goodreads,

I have missed our long strolls down the avenues, discussing good books and laughing, the gondola rides, walking down the beach, 69'ing in the back of the church, and all that other romantic stuff we've done over the years. But, you should see the way they're treating me at this school! I'm, at present, chained up in a dungeon where I'm forced to read about sustainability, social media, and composition theory for hours on end. No matter how much I beg and I plead, they make me research communities in World of Warcraft and Second Life by playing these 'games.' It's oh-so-very hard. 

Okay, so it's mostly fun. But, it's very time consuming. 

I haven't forgotten you, nor have I forgotten the way you taught me to spend forever reviewing a book while barely talking about the book--or even books in general. Or, the way you supported my addiction to crab-related horror novels. (By the way, those crab books STILL aren't in the mail, but I'm getting there.) I remember all the good times we've had, goodreads. And, I especially want to thank you for convincing me to give Virginia Woolf another chance. 

When I give a five-star rating to more than one book by the same author, I start wondering if I should demote all but my favorite. Clearly, they can't be entirely equal books. But, Mrs. Dalloway was amazing in its own way. I would definitely recommend Orlando as a more necessary read, though. This is such a strange, dynamic, HILARIOUS book...in very brief form, this is the story of a young man growing up to be a young woman, and doing so over several hundred years. It's magical realism way before Marquez, and it's full of beautiful writing that constantly surprises you. The tone is much more playful than anything else I've read by Woolf (he says knowingly, with two other Woolf novels on his shelves). But, like David Bowie in spandex pants, there's clearly something substantial and weighty under the surface. This book, like other works by Woolf, deals with some major issues of sexism and gender. I would elaborate on that, but I haven't had my coffee yet. 

The final off-topic point I want to bring up is this: 





Oh, and one other very important thing:





Love,

Michael

Ognjen Klisara

“Proklet bio”, rekao je, “ako ikada više napišem još jednu reč ili pokušam da napišem i jednu reč, da zadovoljim Nika Grina ili Muzu. Loše, dobro ili ravnodušno, od danas pa nadalje, ja ću pisati da zadovoljim sebe”.

Orlando has always been an outsider . . . His longing for passion, adventure and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England and imperial Turkey to the modern world. Will he find happiness with the exotic Russian Princess Sasha? Or is the dashing explorer Shelmerdine the ideal man? And what form will Orlando take on the journey - a nobleman, traveller, writer? Man or . . . woman?

Eli🕺🏼

So I actually really liked the plot of this book, you never really could foresee what would happen next. The only reason I put 1 star is because at some points of the book it would be really slow. I absolutely loved Orlando as a character and his character evolvement throughout the book. Overall it was definitely a worthy read and the writing was just absolutely stunning. Unfortunately I really believe that the flow of the book really made it a bit dull to me.

Charlotte Dann

I made a video reviewing and discussing this book :)

This had all the gay pining, nature-craved non binary dreaminess, femme flamboyance, waterfalls of existential crisis and general jabs at the White male lens of literature that I wanted and so I, too, sigh and toss myself onto my cushion-lodged chaise lounge, wrist to forehead, and go on wishing to have half of Orlando's charm and camp

anarh

As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will witness the making of history from its edge, dressing in the flamboyant fashions of each era, following passing customs, and socialising with celebrated artists and writers.

Virginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, Orlando is a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality.

Mitch Wolterink

** spoiler alert **
           Kleine Spoiler Alert: 

Wat een onwijs bijzondere ervaring om dit boek te lezen. Lang geleden om een boek te lezen met een oude schrijf stijl. 

Na de eerste 30 pagina’s niet precies te weten wat ik nou aan het lezen was en waar ik was in het verhaal zat ik er ‘pats, boem’ helemaal in. 
En bleef daar gelukkig ook.

“Hij noemde haar meloen, ananas, olijfboom, smaragd, vos in de sneeuw en dit alles binnen 3 seconden. Hij had haar gehoord, gezien, geproefd of alle drie tegelijk. Hij kon het niet met zekerheid zeggen” .. dit vind ik prachtig..

Virginia wisselt af tussen mooie lange poëtische zinnen, stopt dan ineens en neemt onverwachte afslagen in het verhaal. Laat soms hele delen informatie weg om daar vervolgens een gevatte opmerking te maken of een grappige verklaring voor te geven. 
Vaak gelachen op deze momenten.

Verder waanzinnig om te lezen hoe Virginia over gender dacht/schreef. Ik zou willen zeggen ver voor haar tijd uit maar eigenlijk ben ik alleen maar verbaast dat het meerendeel er niet zo over dacht, en liep de rest dus achter ;).

“Orlando was een vrouw geworden – dat valt niet te ontkennen. Maar in elk ander opzicht bleef Orlando precies wie hij altijd was. 
Deze geslachtsverandering wijzigde weliswaar de hem en haar beschoren toekomst maar in geen enkel opzicht hun beider identiteit. De twee gezichten waren, zoals de schilderijen uitwijzen, vrijwel aan elkaar gelijk. In zijn herinnering - maar voortaan moeten wij, zoals de conventie dit voorschrijft, wel ‘haar’ zeggen in plaats van ‘zijn’ en ‘zij’ in plaats van ‘hij’.”

En dit is geschreven in 1928. Top! 
Orlando was voor mij een reis door de tijd en een boek dat speelt met de regels! 

(Erg fijn om het boek te lezen met soundtracks van o.a. The crown op de achtergrond.)