Picked this up at a library used book sale.

Unabridged
4 cassettes/6hrs
Read by Alexander Adams

An homage to Virginia Woolf, Michael Cunningham's The Hours brings his literary idol back to life and intertwines her story with those of two more contemporary women.

Having just listened to/read another Michael Cunningham book, I knew what to expect as far as writing style. So I didn't mind the jumping around among characters. I didn't fall in love with this book, though. The characters were incredibly realistic and familiar but hard to relate to at the same time. I think that might have come from the fact that these aren't characters to me; they're real people. It was really fascinating to hear Cunningham's take on a few hours of their lives... and what amazing hours they were! (As opposed to A Home at the End of the world which spans decades). But I didn't feel a really close connect to any of the characters. It was almost like being a voyeur.

This was a good read, and quite enjoyable. But it just didn't make me fall in love with it. I look forward to hearing Michael Cunningham speak at a festival next month. Wonder if he'll talk about this book? I have the movie out of the library on DVD and plan to watch it tonight.

I watched The Hours on DVD last night. Gorgeous movie that complemented the book well. Things I liked most & got out of the book weren't in the movie and things I COMPLETELY missed in the book were much clearer in the movie. In fact, it makes me feel pretty stupid about connections among the characters and relations I somehow completely missed. I think the problem was the way I listened to the audio book itself. I must have missed crucial bits while my GPS was talking or because of traffic or something. And the jumping around was great- I do love that technique- but I totally didn't realize we were dealing with THREE different time periods. I suppose it's the stupidest thing not to realize, considering how all the characters are related. But it wasn't until the end when all the twists/connections are truly revealed and I guess it didn't get into my head until the first few bits of the movie where we clearly see the jumps. Then it was like a light bulb clicked on in my head. That worked so much better for me in movie form than audio book form. I bet it's a lot easier to follow when actually reading the book, too. Or, perhaps I'm just as stupid as I feel.

Also, after watching the documentary on the DVD about Virginia Woolf (who I knew little about beforehand) and watching the piece on the DVD with Michael Cunningham explaining what he wanted to achieve based on the concept of Mrs. Dalloway (which I've never read) I understand the book a WHOLE lot better now. I bet the book would be incredibly for anyone more familiar with Woolf and her works than I am. I'm almost interested to read The Hours again in hard copy now to see what I missed first time around.

Actually, I did the EXACT same thing for Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World! I listened to it, I watched the movie, then I got a paper copy and read most of it just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Must be something about Cunningham's style that makes me feel so drawn in with his characters that I miss crucial plot details?

Adding this to my bookbox ray: Earreading Audiobooks on Cassette Bookbox #1

I hope whoever finds it, enjoys it!

Took out of KateKintail's Audio Bookbox.
Thanks for including me.

Sending to bamaforever who says she likes audios. Also as an apology for to the PO in time to mail before the holiday.

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