I saw this movie in the theater. That would have been, what, 2002? In hindsight, I can say the movie flew as high over my head as Mrs. Dalloway did the first two times I read it in the 2020s. Luckily, there's always that third read.

As for The Hours by Michael Cunningham, what a salve. What an arrogant ambition. To write Virginia's narrative as she's writing Mrs Dalloway. To construct storylines from her characters in different times with fluidity and synchronicity. To peel back despair and explore what happens when genius meets its devil, futility.

To win the damn Pulitzer for doing this.

The audacity of a writer who dares to write has never been on more flagrant display. I feel seen. Maybe even enough to keep going. This is my top read of 2024.