Rating: 
Summary: A Book to Savor
Review: Having never read Mrs. Dalloway, I was concerned that The Hours would be difficult. But it isn't difficult at all. In fact, I had to slow myself down to savor the richness of the language. This isn't a plot-laden book; it's just a beautifully written, stream-of-consciousness view into the thoughts and hopes and dreams of three women: Virginia Woolf; a mid-twentieth Century California housewife who's reading -- and living -- Mrs. Dalloway; and a contemporary New Yorker named Clarissa who is throwing a party for a friend whose pet name for her is "Mrs. Dalloway."
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: If I had nearly half the genious of Michael Cunningham, this would be the book I would choose to leave as my writing legacy. He nailed it! And it blows me away that a male writer could so beautifully and accurately depict the inner workings of women's hearts and souls. It is not the plot that will propel you forward -- in fact, I wouldn't say I was "propelled"; but rather I was carried along on an undulatingly beautiful current. Take your time with it. It is the writing and the depth of character that kept me engrossed. As far as the plot, it was not predictable to me; and that was something much appreciated!
Rating:
Summary: Looove Cunningham!
Review: "The Hours" was my first book by Cunningham...whom I fell in love with! m-m-m, I wonder if he's married. Anyhow, I have added this book to my "all time favorites" The charactors were superb...I found it hard to separate the author from Virgina Woolf...What a task! Brilliant and Delightful! I found myself thinking...How are these three women going to somehow come together?? But they did! Unpredictable, creative, fantastic language. Every sentence is Here and Now....Cunningham didn't win the Pulizer for nothing! I want more of him, more of his words, More. Virginia is applauding from the grave!
Rating: 
Summary: Searching the Hours for the Other Tiger
Review: In The Hours, we join the search for that illusive third tiger of the mind that Borges mentions in The Other Tiger, as we also piece together the hours of the lives of three women in three separate decades whose lives come into collision by the end of the novel. First of all, Cunningham's tribute to Virginia Woolf brings her life and genius into tragic focus, while her influence is a guiding principle for Laura, a woman in search of meaning in what she considers a vacuous world. In 1980's Los Angeles, Clarissa is affectionately called "Mrs. Dalloway" by her lifelong friend and sometime lover for her similarity to Woolf's character. Clarissa plans a party for her oldest friend's literary triumph only to be put on hold by circumstances beyond her control. She plans her party with energy and pleasure as Laura plans the birthday party for her husband with less than enthusiasm. Virginia is recovering in a London suburb while she longs for the city and the stimulus it would bring to her new novel. Her sister's life, with children and everyday pursuits is what Laura needs to give her life balance, but even though she does have that life, she tends more to Virginia's tragic longings. The three stories come together as we recognize the slim thread between sanity and insanity and what a narrow space lies between the courage to go on and the ability to let go when there is no longer hope. That Laura does not give up is unexpected as is her relationship to Clarissa in the end. This is a brilliant study of character as well as a tribute to Woolf who in her own brilliance conceived her place in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book I Ever Read
Review: I bought this book because of the story line given on the back, however the book was so boring and poorly written I couldn't even finish it. The story line on the back really had nothing to do with the story itself. A word to the wise, whoever is doling out awards for writing sure didn't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: Cunningham's eloquent integration of the lives of these three women is only topped by the last chapter. As I read each page, I was upset that I was getting closer to the end because I didn't want it to be over.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: I enjoyed Michael Cunningham's first book a lot (Home at the..), the second book (Flesh & Blood) was a little less engaging and read like a standard 90's American gay novel, but this! After all of the hype (Pulitzer etc.) I expected, wrongly, a return to form. Instead, this book is trite, insincere and a horrible mishmash of Virginia Woolf's work. I hated the book. From beginning to end. I hated the characters - the vacuousness of their lives. I hated the tear-jerking AIDS stuff. It was SO PREDICTABLE! And worse, the book never really engaged with the form of Woolf - it reads like pastiche, a thoroughly post-modern exercise in novel writing. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Instead, if you want Virginia Woolf, read the original and not some hyped American nonsense. If you want a book that really enters into a subject and dissects it try Geoff Ryman's "Was" (which uses The Wizard of Oz as a starting point). If you want a good AIDS-fueled cry, then try Paul Monette. But please leave this chic coffee-table tome on the shelf where it belongs.
Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: I picked this book up at the airport bookstore before an overseas flight based on its numerous awards. It was 200 pages of whining, depicted people totally devoid of courage, and was sickeningly sentimental. I hated it.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of Mrs. Dalloway
Review: I am a college senior writing my senior essay on Virginia Woolf and _Mrs Dalloway_. My friends have all been telling me to read this book, so I decided to start it. It was amazing, and I don't use that word lightly. It reworks the now familiar story of Mrs Dalloway in such a way that I literally cried out when the three storylines intersected.Cunningham takes three stories: Virginia Woolf during the writing of Mrs Dalloway, an unhappy suburban housewife named Laura Brown in 1950s California, and Clarissa Vaughan's preparations for a party in modern New York. Each storyline is interesting, but I thought that the Laura Brown storyline was the most compelling. The parallel plots are connected in such a fashion that it would be a crime to reveal it. The miracle is that Cunningham does not merely rewrite Mrs Dalloway by moving it to a different time and place--he creates something quite new. Everywhere the language echoes Woolf's prose--even when I did not catch the exact allusion, I could feel it. Even the name Mrs. Brown is, I suspect, an allusion to one of Woolf's more famous essays. Anyone who likes Virginia Woolf should enjoy this novel. But I also think that this book contains pleasures that Woolf neophytes can also enjoy--the clean prose, the entrancing and intertwining plots, and the startling denouement. It's highly, highly recommended. It was the best book I read all summer (just displacing Woolf's _The Years_, which is also quite good).
Rating:
Summary: Surprising delight
Review: Make sure you have read Mrs. Dalloway beforehand to get the full measure of Cunningham's artful homage to Woolf. Astonishing.
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