Rating: 
Summary: artistic, intelligent, humane (but in what order)?
Review: I held off on "The Hours" for some time despite it's initial warm reception because I could see how easily it could be one of those books that everyone else loves, but that might seem a little too precious for my taste. This book might out-Woolff Woolff, with a mimeographic slavishness to the source and its style; it might stray so far from her that the connection would seem overblown, a mere literary conceit for its own sake. The frequent focus on the sufferings of the gay characters might turn it into gay polemnic.As it turns out, both my faith and distrust were mis-laid. Cunningham does a masterful job of avoiding all these potneital pitfalls. He also immediately drew me into the story: the first thirty pages or so of this book contain some of the most marvellous writing I've ever encountered. I was quite literally ooh-ing and ahh-ing and chukling out loud at its economy and power. I doubt that anyone could have sustained that quality for much longer, yet there is a slight disappointment at the drop-off. By cutting between stories, Cunningham has found a smartly flexible strategy of "triangulating" Woolf, through his more modern heroines (these novellas may actually be stronger for their interrupting of each other), but most readers will still benefit from a quick review of "Mrs. Dalloway"--the first several pages, at least--to appreciate the ways that Cunningham approaches and avoids his source material. As for my concern that this would be a "gay" novel--yes, whatever that means--Cunningham invites a response much like the one I have to Toni Morrison's characters, who are first and foremost strong and interesting people who can reach across demographic boundaries through their sheer humanity. So: despite avoiding these potentially lethal pitfalls--in fact turning them into strengths--Cunningham makes one major mis-step: one of the three stroies, while constructed of well written sentences and some keen observations, never quite gets off the ground for me--it seems to stop rather than to end, and leaves the whole book coming up a bit short (for me anyway). Cunningham after all, does seem to be working with miniatures here, and we may rightfully expect a higher degree of polish here than we would in a big baggy novel. It just seemed odd to me that he did some of the very difficult things terribly well and then stumbled with what should have been the simpler task of plot construction--as if a trapeze artist gave a stunning performance and then immediately walked into a telephone pole. I don't want to turn-off potential readers--this is a book I'll likely read again--so much as offer a perspective that's neither the one-star dismissal or the five-star salivation. And those first thirty (27?) pages were truly one of the highlights of my reading life.
Rating: 
Summary: an interesting phenomenon
Review: I read in the NY Times that the author proposed a boxed set, his book and "Mrs. Dalloway." I think this is a bad idea, for the following reason. I, who had never been able to stomach Virginia Woolf as a young man, read "Mrs. Dalloway" first. I found it profound, amusing, wonderful, and I revised my opinion of Woolf utterly. Turning to "The Hours," I felt it was an interesting failure, drowned, as it were, in the light shimmering in my mind from Mrs. Woolf's incandescent prose. I imagine the Pulizer committee made up of English professors who, having failed to persuade students to appreciate Woolf, were overcome by the happy memories of their long ago love affair with "Mrs. Dalloway." In the end I found the two books about as successful as the parties each bring us to. Then again, my profound thanks to Mr. Cunningham for sending me to Ms. Woolf.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book
Review: For me, this was the best book of the year. Cunningham has a great sense of perception and language and uses those traits to full power in the telling of these three women. This is w beautifully written and compulsively readable story that is worthy of the Pulitzer and everything else it either did or should have won.
Rating:
Summary: Presumptuous but it works
Review: I found the idea of an American male attempting to write a companion novel to Mrs. Dalloway, in the style of Virginia Woolf, quite presumptuous. Needless to say I was extremely sceptical. After reading The Hours, I must say it was beautifully executed. Although this is not a sequel of a classic and does stand alone, anyone wanting to read this should read Mrs. Dalloway first to appreciate all the nuances and subtle referrences. Any fan of Mrs. Dalloway (my favorite Woolf novel) should read this... you surely won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Count me as one who loved it!
Review: Wow. The readers really seem to have extreme reactions to this series of novellas. I thought it was extremely well done. In particular, I appreciated the originality of the work. I also really enjoy the novella format. For readers who like this form, I would highly recommend both The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro and Fried Calamari by D.M. Roman.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book in recent memory
Review: The Hours deserves every award it has won. Cunningham has created a brilliant, deeply affecting book, which is particularly amazing because it is so spare and lean. It moved me like no other novel I've read in a very long time. Thinking about the ending still gives me the chills months after I finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Elegant and mesmerizing
Review: This novel is both an homage to Mrs. Dalloway and a quantum leap beyond it. It's blinding in its spare, elegant prose and in its Polaroid snaps of a day in the lives of its fascinating characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Strengths and weaknesses both
Review: Is this the first 3-star review? All the others represent extremes of repulsion or devotion--perhaps a good sign for a book. After all, it draws a reaction. To measure Cunningham's prose against Woolf is perhaps unfair--but, he sets up the comparison himself. He's a good writer, perhaps a bit precious and too self-conscious about writing a good line--and all in all he did a pretty great job of pulling together three separate narratives about characters that range from boring to merely dull to fascinating (Woolf). The story line about the California wife I found excruciating until she decides to check into a hotel. At that point I thought "great. She's going to kill herself and we can get on with the good stuff." A lurid question: Did Woolf really only use one stone to drown herself? I thought there were several....
Rating:
Summary: Such extremes of opinion
Review: Although I side completely with those other flying five-star reviews, I could not help but notice what extremes the we go to in our opinion of this novel. The worst, the best, and almost nothing in between. It is on that observation alone that I argue how original the novel is. No one liked it - they either hated or loved it. By the way, I loved it. But importantly, I, like the rest of you, felt something.
Rating: 
Summary: One mere line cannot adequately describe it's awfulness.
Review: Overweening in it's pretense and preciousness. I suspect Hollywood will be hot on it's heels. Read Woolf, not Cunningham. Absolutely phoney.
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