Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Nicholas Whyte's Reviews > Orlanda

Orlanda by Jacqueline Harpman
Rate this book
Clear rating

by
565673
's review

it was amazing



I’m always on the lookout for actual science fiction set in Belgium, and this is a really interesting example, a reaction to Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, which is repeatedly referenced in the text (though I don’t think you’d need to have read it to enjoy this).

Aline is a reserved and somewhat repressed Belgian literature lecturer, and one day waiting for her train home in Paris, the more liberated side of her personality splits off and takes over the body of Lucien, a cute young man who is taking the same train. The (short) book has Aline and Orlanda (as her incarnate other halfnames herself) navigating their identities and relationships through the streets of Brussels.

I really enjoyed this. Harpman writes herself into the book as a minor character, a science fiction-loving friend of Aline’s. The story ends a bit abruptly, but it’s tidy enough given the situation.
1 like ·  âˆ� flag

Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read Orlanda.
Sign In »

Reading Progress

Finished Reading
June 29, 2024 – Shelved

No comments have been added yet.