Why people recommend it
Orlando by Virginia Woolf is a landmark modernist novel about a poet who changes sex across centuries and lives. Kate Atkinson discussed the book on The Book Review, explaining that she had spent years wanting to write a story about parallel lives where a protagonist shifts through different genders and even forms of life, noting the clear inspiration drawn from Virginia Woolf's novel. Dennis Duncan also mentioned Woolf's book on The Book Review while discussing the history of the index, using the presence of an index within Orlando to illustrate playful fictional works that utilize the device. The podcast contributors referenced the novel to highlight its enduring influence on imaginative fiction and experimental storytelling structures. Through these discussions, Woolf's work was celebrated as a timeless blueprint for narrative audacity and fluidity.
Who recommended it
- Kate Atkinson Discussed
- Dennis Duncan Discussed
Kate Atkinson — 2 mentions
“it's a bit like Wolf's Orlando”
“I for years I had wanted to write a a novel or even a story called parallel lives in which someone you know it's a bit like Wolf's Orlando but this woman is born as a woman the next time she's born as a man and then she's born as a tree”
Dennis Duncan — 1 mention
“so Virginia wolf Orlando has an index”