The Hours cover art

The Hours

A Novel

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The Hours

Written by: Michael Cunningham
Narrated by: Michael Cunningham
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Winner of the Pulitzer prize, the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and nominated for 9 Academy Awards, The Hours is now available on Unabridged CD.

Passionate, profound, and deeply moving, The Hours tells the story of three women: Clarissa Vaughan, who one New York morning goes about planning a party in honor of a beloved friend; Laura Brown, who in a 1950s Los Angeles suburb slowly begins to feel the constraints of a perfect family and home; and Virginia Woolf, recuperating with her husband in a London suburb and beginning to write Mrs. Dalloway. By the end of the novel, the stories have intertwined, and finally come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace, demonstrating Michael Cunningham's deep empathy for his characters as well as the extraordinary resonance of his language.

 Education Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Parenting & Families Parents & Adult Children Compassion
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What the critics say

“A smashing literary tour de force and an utterly invigorating reading experience. If this book does not make you jump up from the sofa, looking at life and literature in new ways, check to see if you have a pulse.” —USA Today

“An exquisitely written, kaleidoscopic work that anchors a floating postmodern world on pre-modern caissons of love, grief, and transcendent longing.” —Los Angeles Times

“Cunningham has created something original, a trio of richly interwoven tales...his most mature and masterful work.” —The Washington Post Book World
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enjoyed the intricately woven stories but the reading was off putting too many non dramatic pauses

Good writing bad reading

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Amazing and thoughtful book. Cunningham shows great insight into the inner world of women. The book does justice to the spirit of the great Virginia Woolf.

enjoyed it immensely

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The story was wonderful, so many genius, witty insights. The only thing I found challenging to bear was the author/narrator’s overly precise grating pronunciation in the early part of the book. It took a few tries to get past that, but it was worthwhile.

Loved the story, not the narrator

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