Reviews

Liberty: Vintage Minis by Virginia Woolf

shanstheme's review

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3.0

It is times like this that I really wish I was able to give books half stars, as this was definitely a 3.5/5 read.

Each extract/essay in this book was written so well, and I feel as though I have taken something out of each one - but some were just more enjoyable to read than others. I feel as though this is a case where I know how good, and important, a book was but it just wasn't entirely for me.

My favourites were 'Street Haunting: A London Adventure' and the extract from the novel 'The Waves'. They managed to hold my attention, and intrigue me, the most.

marysiaspi's review

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4.0

i feel like there's a lot that went straight over my head, nie jestem przyzwyczajona do takiego jezyka, szczegolnie po angielsku, ale mam takie uczucie, ze reading it was worthwhile and it taught me a lot (szczegolnie the first two essays), a te opowiadania dalej were just beautiful to read

hollymarshall's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars
a room of ones own was fascinating,
the extract from the waves was beautiful,
the other essays were meh.
a very interesting collection

larissakoedood's review

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4.0

This was a very nice introduction to some of the works by Virginia Woolf, and it has definitely encouraged me to pick up the other books I own by her! This selection of parts of her essays and novels was interesting. Some parts I liked better than others. I especially liked the fragment of A room of One's Own, so I'll definitely pick that up soonish! I was also quite impressed by the essay Street Haunting: A London Adventure; at first I didn't quite get where she was going, but in the end I really loved it, and the writing style was so poetic, really beautiful!

emeldelo's review against another edition

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3.0

LOVED the first and last extracts <3

thepagesilivein's review against another edition

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5.0

Such a beautiful little collection. Great as an introduction to Virginia Woolf, or as a small collection to reminisce about novels already read.

hzboy's review against another edition

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4.0

I read in English but this review is Bahasa Indonesia

Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags.


Apa itu "liberty" mungkin jika diartikan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia memiliki arti yang tipis dengan terminologi "freedom." Namun, dalam kumpulan cuplikan tulisan Virgina Woolf, ia jelas-jelas menggarisbawahi mengenai kebebasan perempuan. Misalnya saja dalam beberapa bagian awal yang merupakan potongan dari A Room for One's Own. Di situ, ia jelas sekali mengatakan bahwa perempuan juga punya hak yang sama dengan laki-laki dalam menjalani kesehariannya. Bukannya malah harus memenuhi ekspektasi kaum laki-laki saja.

Tidak saja dari esai, dalam Liberty: Vintage Minis ini juga ada potongan dari novelnya yang berjudul The Waves. Di situ, meskipun bersifat fiksi, tetapi Woolf juga memberikan beberapa pemaparan yang agaknya merupakan pelampiasaannya terhadap ketidakadilan terhadap perempuan.

And since a novel has this correspondence to real life, its values are to some extent those of real life. But it is obvious that the values of women differ very often from the values which have been made by the other sex; naturally, this is so. Yet it is the masculine values that prevail.


Bagian yang paling aku suka dari buku ini adalah bagian yang terakhir, "How Should One Read A Book." Membaca pun juga adalah bentuk kebebasan dalam berpikir, menurut Woolf seharusnya membaca dan bagaimana cara membaca buku tidak ada standarnya. Semua diberikan secara bebas dari penulis kepada pembaca. Dalam esai yang ini, Woolf mengatakan hal yang masih relevan hingga sekarang: betapa penilaian seseorang terhadap bacaan menjadi refleksi untuk menilai orang lain yang membacanya.

Untukku pribadi, Liberty: Vintage Minis ini lebih ringan daripada membaca A Room for One's Own. Berkenalan dengan Woolf melalui ide utamanya di buku ini rasanya menjadi sebuah pilihan yang tepat. Apalagi, ia hanya memakan waktu sekitar 2 jam saja untuk dilahap.

The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions.
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