Book #14 - The Hours by Michael Cunningham

In the novel The Hours, author Michael Cunningham uses the life and work of Virginia Woolf as his inspiration. Through it, he tells the story of a group of contemporary characters, while shedding some light on who Woolf was, as well. If I had one word to describe The Hours, it would be "depressing," as the novel begins with the narration of Woolf's suicide and carries the somber tone throughout the stories of Mrs. Dalloway and Mrs. Brown, as well.

The lives of these three women are woven together to create this novel. As I was reading, I was constantly trying to figure out how the three would collide, and when they did, I wished they never had. However, the way Cunningham reveals the connection is masterful, regardless of how unexpected and heartbreaking it may be.

The three women in this novel are living lives that they are unhappy with. They tolerate them solely to protect others and because they are the only lives they have ever known. There is a general theme of feeling trapped in this novel - trapped in heterosexuality, trapped with depression and even trapped in motherhood.

I haven't seen the movie, nor have I read Mrs. Dalloway, but after finishing this novel, I'm inclined to pick up both. Cunningham's novel sheds light on parts of the female condition that most writers or filmmakers have tried to and failed. We understand these three women; we feel sorry for them and we root for them to break free from the so-called prisons of their everyday lives. In its own way, this novel allows it characters to live and ultimately seek what they deserve out of life.