Virginia W. said this was her throwaway book, not to be taken seriously and not to trouble herself too much over. Sort of her "beach" read. I loved it almost more than her serious works of art. Woolfe isn't known much for the fantastical or the humourous, but Orlando has these things. A fascinating experiment in time and gender. ( )

Such a strange biography of Orlando who appears to be a legend among the people. Orlando was a very strange character and became even more so to me after the transformation halfway through the book, but seeing the struggle of change over the years and the difference between how men and women act is prevalent throughout the entire story. Also the desire to change back or be someone you no longer are plays a key role throughout the biography.

Virginia Woolf's most sustained work of narrative fiction is in fact a spoof biography of the Elizabethan lord Orlando who travels the years to the Twentieth Century while turning into a woman. A hymn of praise to the character of Vita Sackville-West. ( )

What an amazing book this was. It was like a wild ride in an amusement park--so much fun but I always felt a little off balance. However, I just loved the humor throughout the entire story.
The book begins with Orlando’s birth and childhood and how he grows to be a “beautiful” young man and a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I near the end of her reign. Later King Charles sends him as Ambassador to Turkey and the descriptions of his ambassadorial duties are the stuff of Grouch Marx--hilarious.
While in Turkey Orlando falls into a prolonged trance like sleep and when Orlando awakes she is now a woman. VW’s thoughts on how people conform to society's ideas of gender roles, and how important clothing is, freeing the male and restricting the female are thought provoking but, again, I was more entranced with the humor as she describes the society of the time—a much later time than when Orlando was a man. I'm a huge Georgette Heyer fan and the descriptions of the society functions Orlando attends reminded me of the time Heyer writes about. VW had me practically rolling on the floor--the "assemblies," the "tea parties," and the "witty, intellectual gatherings" were a hoot. Part of this book seems to be a great "send up" of so many British customs and mores--her acerbic wit is delightful.
This last section was the most difficult for me to keep track of what was going on--I think because it moved so quickly through so many different moods. The novel ends on October 11th 1928—Orlando is over 400 years old. In many of her novels Virginia Woolf seems to love “playing with time!”
I enjoyed it but feel I need to read it again because I'm sure I missed a lot the first time through. Her style seems to change with each new novel of hers I read and I always get more from her books when I reread the--which I will be doing with this one also. ( )

While the scope and idea of this novel was and is exciting, I felt it lacked something. Orlando's adventures felt more like aimless (and not-quite-interesting) wanderings than an exciting odyssey. After finishing the book and feeling a little like I had wasted my time, I read some background on it that explained that the biography was a kind of tribute to Woolf's androgynous lover, Vita Sackville-West. Knowing that gives the novel a little more meaning, but doesn't make it all that much more interesting. As other reviewers have noted, the story up to the point where Orlando leaves London for Constantinople is much more exciting than the rest and is what most of my three stars are owed to. ( )