orlando

my apologies for my long absence! i took a break from reading "grown-up" novels and plunged into one of my favorite genres: books for the adolescent reader. I love books for kids, in particularly those geared toward the middle grades readers. i figured most people wouldn't be too interested in my reviews, if you call them that, on those books. but then i thought, maybe they would like it. but by then i was in a bad habit of neglecting this blog and that is why i am now reembarking on this journey. i have worn out my flavor, for the time being, of adolescent books and am on to one of my old favorites: virginia woolf.

most people hear her name and think suicide and difficult and depressing novels. however, besides her absolutely brilliant prose and use of the english language, she actually wrote a few lighter novels. the two "lightest" are orlando and flush. she usually wrote her lighter novels after finishing an extremely dense and deep book. she wrote orlando after writing to the lighthouse, one of her most famous novels. she wrote flush after writing the waves, an extremely difficult novel all about, well, death. orlando and flush are both "biographies". at least, that's what woolf deemed them. orlando follows the life of, wouldn't you know it, orlando, who, when the tale begins is a 16th century teenage boy. however, by the end of the book, he has transformed into a thirty-six year old woman in present day (1928). it has been long hailed as a superior commentary, both funny and rich, on the true nature of sexuality. well, we shall see, for this is what i am currently reading. just for those curious, flush is the life story of a cocker spaniel. that's right, a dog. and who's dog? elizabeth barrett browning's dog. not what you'd usually expect from down-in-the-dumps virginia, but she had her moments.

for now, it's into the ever-changing world of orlando.