Lesley S. reviewed on 12/13/2008 + 50 more book reviews

My advice before you read this: first read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The three intersecting lives in "The Hours" are alternately about a modern day NYC literary type nicknamed Mrs. Dalloway, a 1950s suburban housewife reading Mrs. Dalloway, and a day in the life of the author when she was writing Mrs. Dalloway. Although the stories take place in different times and places, they weave together, puzzle-piece style. Structurally, I thought this time-jumping, literary-centric approach worked better in A.S. Byatt's "Posessession" (as they say: if you liked Possession, try The Hours!!) but it's still a good read, with some gorgeously-written passages and insights that make you say ah-ha. What I related to the most is the characters' sense of dislocation, where it can feel like you're an actor in your own life, waiting in the wings and about to go on, despite being underdressed and ill-rehearsed.

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