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codercaitlin's review
challenging
emotional
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
breadandmushrooms's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
k_shanahan's review
4.0
The ending took me by surprise. I got more emotional than I thought I would :o
_niva_'s review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
is_book_loring's review against another edition
3.0
“To feel anything strongly was to create an abyss between oneself and others who feel strongly perhaps but differently.”
My rating system is clear from my profile, even so I feel the need to emphasize that mostly-taken-as-average three stars here is not reflection of what I thought is the quality of the book. The Voyage Out is my most esteemed author's debut novel, and Virginia Woolf was incapable of writing anything that is qualified as average. I merely didn't enjoy this book as much as her more mature, less self-conscious, more effortless later works. As far as a debut novel goes, The Voyage Out is remarkable in inventiveness and beautiful in its stirring prose. Her description of nature and people are extremely vivid and delightful. The last chapter is just pure brilliance in imagery.
Woolf concerned herself with relationship, between men and women or more of the separation of them, the isolated islands of persons and their inexpressible thoughts; the connection of individuals and society especially in relation between gender roles and sexual identity with custom and social expectations in patriarchal society. It's clear that The Voyage Out serves like sketches of the feminist and social issues which are the prominent themes in her later books.
The Voyage Out chiefly made a very encouraging and valuable read to me, because I got to see the early stage of my heroine's literary voyage.
My rating system is clear from my profile, even so I feel the need to emphasize that mostly-taken-as-average three stars here is not reflection of what I thought is the quality of the book. The Voyage Out is my most esteemed author's debut novel, and Virginia Woolf was incapable of writing anything that is qualified as average. I merely didn't enjoy this book as much as her more mature, less self-conscious, more effortless later works. As far as a debut novel goes, The Voyage Out is remarkable in inventiveness and beautiful in its stirring prose. Her description of nature and people are extremely vivid and delightful. The last chapter is just pure brilliance in imagery.
Woolf concerned herself with relationship, between men and women or more of the separation of them, the isolated islands of persons and their inexpressible thoughts; the connection of individuals and society especially in relation between gender roles and sexual identity with custom and social expectations in patriarchal society. It's clear that The Voyage Out serves like sketches of the feminist and social issues which are the prominent themes in her later books.
The Voyage Out chiefly made a very encouraging and valuable read to me, because I got to see the early stage of my heroine's literary voyage.
sigkil's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
onion_budgie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aleksandraborenovic's review
4.0
Now I know why I hated 'Mrs Dalloway'. Clarissa makes an appearance here too. Although Rachel likes her immensely, I find her cartoonish. When Clarissa left and they arrived in South America it all became much more interesting. It's like all of the colors changed abruptly. I just wanted to jump into every character's brain and Virginia enabled that for me. I wouldn't mind even if the novel was 6000 pages long, that's how strong she describes thoughts and emotions of her characters. I found myself thinking about them in the middle of the day when I was at the groceries or when I was commuting.
I won't lie, this is far from perfect, it lacks certain things regarding the physical atmosphere and the plot, but with Virginia, plot is not so important. Also, it's her first novel and I must say that only in tiny bits (apart from lack of stream of consciousness) you can see that it's written from an inexperienced writer, which I find marvelous. Usually the first novel tends to be sloppy and disorganized.
I won't lie, this is far from perfect, it lacks certain things regarding the physical atmosphere and the plot, but with Virginia, plot is not so important. Also, it's her first novel and I must say that only in tiny bits (apart from lack of stream of consciousness) you can see that it's written from an inexperienced writer, which I find marvelous. Usually the first novel tends to be sloppy and disorganized.
arunendro's review against another edition
3.5
not her best but still good. I kind of think I should have read this this earlier in my life.
ninarg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
I recently read the brilliant "After Sappho" by Selby Wynn Schwartz, and as Virginia is one of the women featured in that work, I got the urge to read more by Woolf. I love Virginia Woolf and the way she gets to the heart of what it means to be human. The interactions of her characters, or rather, the characters' thoughts and feelings about their interactions, are some of the most real in all of literature. She puts the spotlight on the tiniest things, thoughts and feelings so easily overlooked it is amazing to me how she managed to put them in the foreground in her novels.
In "The Voyage Out" we meet a small group of people, first on a ship, then in a small port town in South America. Helen Ambrose is a new favourite of mine, kind and loyal, but able to hold her own and say what she means. She is not a pushover, and in a different society she would have been a force to be reckoned with. Her niece, Rachel, is staying with Helen and her husband. Rachel is young and has lived a very sheltered life so far, but she is on a journey of self-discovery now.
Evelyn M. is another new favourite. She is often proposed to, but can't make up her mind who to marry. Not because she is a flirt, but because she feels that life holds so much more than marriage. She is a suffragette, maybe an anarchist, and I think, unknowingly, gay or bi. She is not that interested in men, but she speaks highly of a female friend of hers who is doing good work in the East End.
Anyway, all of this is not really what the book is about. It's about how difficult it is to say what one actually thinks. So many thoughts are left unspoken or modified, even between close friends or partners. It is also about women's rights and education, the relationship between men and women and what to do with one's life. To stay at Cambridge or go to the Bar? To marry or join the anarchists in Russia? Is it better to marry than to stay single? What is the meaning of life? Is there any meaning or is it all accidents and coincidence?
This is Virginia Woolf's first novel, but you can see the beginnings of themes and styles that she'll later develop into masterpieces like "Mrs Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse". I really enjoyed it, and am happy that "After Sappho" made me read it now rather than later.
In "The Voyage Out" we meet a small group of people, first on a ship, then in a small port town in South America. Helen Ambrose is a new favourite of mine, kind and loyal, but able to hold her own and say what she means. She is not a pushover, and in a different society she would have been a force to be reckoned with. Her niece, Rachel, is staying with Helen and her husband. Rachel is young and has lived a very sheltered life so far, but she is on a journey of self-discovery now.
Evelyn M. is another new favourite. She is often proposed to, but can't make up her mind who to marry. Not because she is a flirt, but because she feels that life holds so much more than marriage. She is a suffragette, maybe an anarchist, and I think, unknowingly, gay or bi. She is not that interested in men, but she speaks highly of a female friend of hers who is doing good work in the East End.
Anyway, all of this is not really what the book is about. It's about how difficult it is to say what one actually thinks. So many thoughts are left unspoken or modified, even between close friends or partners. It is also about women's rights and education, the relationship between men and women and what to do with one's life. To stay at Cambridge or go to the Bar? To marry or join the anarchists in Russia? Is it better to marry than to stay single? What is the meaning of life? Is there any meaning or is it all accidents and coincidence?
This is Virginia Woolf's first novel, but you can see the beginnings of themes and styles that she'll later develop into masterpieces like "Mrs Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse". I really enjoyed it, and am happy that "After Sappho" made me read it now rather than later.