327. Orlando

Orlando
Virginia Woolf
1928
Around 335 pages

Let the gay parade march on! Unfortunately, this coincides with Virginia Woolf's writing style moving away from the everyday reflections to something much more surreal. I find it dizzying, to say the least.

In the 1500s, Orlando serves as a page at the Elizabethan court and falls in love with a slightly deranged princess. He channels his heartbreak into writing a long poem, The Oak Tree, and serves as an ambassador in Constantinople. He falls asleep for several days, and wakes up to find himself a herself.

Obviously, this is a strange novel. For one thing, the main character is about 300 years old. And doesn't seem particularly perturbed to find himself transformed into a woman. Orlando realizes the power of the female sex when she flashes her ankle at a sailor and he nearly falls to death in his arousal. A totally relatable experience.

The historical set pieces in this novel were excellent. Her description of the Frost Fair held on the Thames during the Great Frost of 1608 was particularly memorable. But when your character is a shapeshifting immortal, it's a little hard to relate to. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Nigel Nicolson, Sackville-West's son, wrote that this was the most charming love letter in literature.

Commercial and critical success.

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