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"I fell in love with Crosby, Stills, and Nash's song 'Southern Cross' when I was fifteen. By the time I got to college, 'I'm going to sail around the world someday' was sort of my pickup line." Continue »
  1. $10.50 Sale Trade Paper add to wish list

The Hours

by Michael Cunningham

The Hours Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The author of "At Home at the End of the World" and "Flesh and Blood" draws inventively on the life and work of Virginia Woolf to tell the story of a group of contemporary characters struggling with conflicting claims of love and inheritance, hope and despair.

Review:

"The overall impression is that of a delicate, triumphant glance, an acknowledgement of Woolf that takes her into Cunningham's own territory, a place of late-century danger but also of treasurable hours."Michael Wood, The New York Times Book Review

"An exquisitely written, kaleidoscopic work that anchors a floating postmodern world on pre-modern caissons of love, grief and transcendent longing."Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[Cunningham] has deftly created something original, a trio of richly interwoven tales that alternate with one another chapter by chapter, each of them entering the thoughts of a character as she moves through the small details of a day . . . Cunningham's emulation of such a revered writer as Woolf is courageous, and this is his most mature and masterful work."Jameson Currier, The Washington Post Book World

"The triumph of The Hours is that it somehow manages to be both artful and sincere, striking nary a false note . . . And the triumph of the book is no less the triumph of its author. Just when it seemed that it was no longer permissible to pay respect to the literature of the past, Cunningham has done so with an undeniable skill and depth of feeling."Justin Cronin, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Rich and beautifully nuanced scenes follow one upon the other . . . [a] gargantuan accomplishment."Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

About the Author

Michael Cunningham was raised in Los Angeles and lives in New York City. He is the author of the novels A Home at the End of the World (Picador) and Flesh and Blood. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and Best American Short Stories, and he is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award. The Hours was a New York Times Bestseller, and was chosen as a Best Book of 1998 by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
theflowers, January 15, 2008 (view all comments by theflowers)
Wow, is all I can say. It is an extremely well-crafted novel. (If at all interested in the motives of the writer, and a bit of insight into Cunningham's writing process, I recommend the interview Powell's conducted; the link is on the top of this page.)

Anyways - I picked up this book shortly after reading Mrs Dalloway, my first encounter with Virginia Woolf which completely blew me away. I was a bit timid, and afraid to pick up the legendary Woolf. Once I begun, though, I zipped through Mrs Dalloway, reluctant to ever put it down. Again, I digress, The Hours manages to intertwine thought and theme about Mrs Dalloway and Woolf's life using three stories of characters. We are introduced and brought into their lives, feeling their triflings and larger pains, and believe you me, you will be immersed fully in the lives of these characters. (I'm a high school student, and I finished the last chapter in my school's library, concurrently blocking out the chattering of my contemporaries. So enthralled in the storyline, was I, that by the time I closed the covers, I was in tears, smack in the middle of the library. It was great; really.)

Again, back to business, I do tend to leap into the asides - this book is a great read for anybody looking for a well-crafted, marvelously executed storyline; no knowledge of Virginia Woolf or Mrs Dalloway required!
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ridermae, November 20, 2006 (view all comments by ridermae)
The three stories braided so expertly in this book are rich in plot, imagistic, and absolutely gorgeous, worthy of being read aloud. An incredible book!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780312243029
Author:
Cunningham, Michael
Publisher:
Picador USA
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Man-woman relationships
Subject:
New york (n.y.)
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade Paper
Publication Date:
January 2000
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
230
Dimensions:
8.34x5.54x.68 in. .51 lbs.

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