Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Contemplative
Taking its cue from the work of Virginia Woolf and her fellow modernists, The Hours works to gain insight into the thoughts, feelings, and unconscious motivations of its characters. Throughout the novel, Michael Cunningham uses intimate, free-indirect narration to tap into his characters' inner lives and bring them out into the light of day. As a result, we readers are given deep insight into those characters' perspectives.
Sometimes down-in-the-dumps and sometimes optimistic, The Hours shows us people who live their lives thoughtfully, weighing every moment and measuring the current state against countless other possibilities. The novel is captivated by the thoughts that preoccupy ordinary people living ordinary days, and it does its best to make sure that we readers find them captivating, too.