The Hours - Thursdays from 25th September

‘The Hours’ is a deeply moving novel inspired by the life and work of Virginia Woolf.  However it is not a biography, Michael Cunningham combines her story with those of two more contemporary women - one in the late 1940s, and one in the present day. As the character of Virginia Woolf struggles with writing her new novel "Mrs Dalloway", in New York 52-year-old Clarissa Vaughan is arranging a party for her dear friend who is dying. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles in 1949, Laura Brown, a married housewife struggles with everyday activities, while wishing to continue her reading of Mrs Dalloway. The three women in the Hours are linked by Woolf's great novel, each desperate for an hour in the day when their lives seem, alive and full of hope. 

This is a very readable novel with a gripping plot.  Cunningham uses some elements of Woolf's writing style while revisiting some of her themes in contemporary settings. 

"A major achievement from a writer who has earned every work of praise yet directed at him. Not only is The Hours a major achievement for Cunningham, it is important for fiction." -- Irish Times

"Engrossing, Imaginative and humane." -- Observer

Geoff says:

"This is a beautiful, poignant and moving book.  Michael Cunningham was the winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and Pen Faulkner prize. The Hours was also made into a wonderful Oscar-winning film starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. The Hours is an ideal book to read first for anyone interested in then going on to read Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway"."