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evelyn261999's review
1.0
After thirty years without a new biography on the subject of 'Orlando', one of the most famous bio(mytho)graphies ever written, I'm sure the literary world was clamouring for this rambling mess of underwrought psychological insights and plodding recitations of Vita Sackville-West's affairs. All of Dennison's points are either true of everybody (eg. the public vs the private mask) or already stated outright by Sackville-West in her diaries and letters (eg. her frustration at being unable to inherit Knole as a woman). Dennison's penchant for gutting random lines from her poetry and novels, and clunkily bolting them on to his points with all the grace of a GCSE English essay does not make this a literary biography.
Apparently written for an audience who care enough to read a biography about Sackville-West, but who emphatically do not care about Virginia Woolf or her suicide, Dennison's desire to reclaim Sackville-West from being reduced to prurient accounts of her sexuality amounts to nothing more than a distinct lack of empathy, or even base consideration, for the difficulties of any lesbian experience in the early 20th century. That Dennison makes her sex life boring does not make his focus on it any less voyeuristic. One might well ask whether the biographical details of anybody's life can ever be exhausted, but this book really did feel pointless.
Apparently written for an audience who care enough to read a biography about Sackville-West, but who emphatically do not care about Virginia Woolf or her suicide, Dennison's desire to reclaim Sackville-West from being reduced to prurient accounts of her sexuality amounts to nothing more than a distinct lack of empathy, or even base consideration, for the difficulties of any lesbian experience in the early 20th century. That Dennison makes her sex life boring does not make his focus on it any less voyeuristic. One might well ask whether the biographical details of anybody's life can ever be exhausted, but this book really did feel pointless.
wreathedinviolets's review
5.0
Vita is vivacious and wealthy, creatively inclined and stubborn; her life conveys it as such. Dennison shapes her character with such clarity that finishing the book and reading about her death was almost painful, especially in the decline leading up to it. Starting out, I was mostly interested in getting more context in the relationship between Vita and Violet after reading a collection of Violet's letters, but gained so much more than I expected. It's more than welcoming to read about a lesbian who was open enough with her relationships a hundred years ago that we still have detailed record of it today. Although Dennison's writing was blissfully free of any kind of homophobia, I still wonder if the book would've come out any differently through the eyes of a female author. Still, this is by far one of the most enjoyable NF books I've read.
bronwynmb's review
3.0
I won this book through Goodreads in exchange for a review.
This book was fine. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. The book is broken up into long parts, each named after one of Vita’s works or a work she inspired. Some of the part titles worked better than others for me. Mostly I think they were picked because they sounded good for that segment, not because that segment really had anything to do with that work.
The book starts with a court case involving Vita’s mother, which happened when Vita was around 20. After that we go back to the beginning of Vita’s life and from there it’s mostly a linear biography. The beginning of the book felt weird to me, like the author was trying to write like one of the early 20th-c. authors he would mention later on. It was all a bit confusing for the first segment or so. After that the book got much more readable. At this point though, the author got too hung up in Vita’s relationships. I understand that relationships make up a large part of someone’s life, but it seemed like the relationships took up the majority of the focus of the book. Vita’s works were mentioned really only when they were influenced by the relationships. Surely there was more to her life than all these affairs?
I got bogged down with reading this again towards the end (the middle was definitely the most readable to me), though I couldn’t tell you why at this point. I’m just glad to have finished it. In the future I would like to read a more standard biography of Vita, as I feel like I still don’t know much about her at all.
This book was fine. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. The book is broken up into long parts, each named after one of Vita’s works or a work she inspired. Some of the part titles worked better than others for me. Mostly I think they were picked because they sounded good for that segment, not because that segment really had anything to do with that work.
The book starts with a court case involving Vita’s mother, which happened when Vita was around 20. After that we go back to the beginning of Vita’s life and from there it’s mostly a linear biography. The beginning of the book felt weird to me, like the author was trying to write like one of the early 20th-c. authors he would mention later on. It was all a bit confusing for the first segment or so. After that the book got much more readable. At this point though, the author got too hung up in Vita’s relationships. I understand that relationships make up a large part of someone’s life, but it seemed like the relationships took up the majority of the focus of the book. Vita’s works were mentioned really only when they were influenced by the relationships. Surely there was more to her life than all these affairs?
I got bogged down with reading this again towards the end (the middle was definitely the most readable to me), though I couldn’t tell you why at this point. I’m just glad to have finished it. In the future I would like to read a more standard biography of Vita, as I feel like I still don’t know much about her at all.
jmeston's review
5.0
I luxuriated in this biography, and found it a wonderful mental vacation. I don't share many of VSW's values (hereditary landed aristocracy most particularly) but I do share some of her interests (writing, gardens, love of seasons, an inclusive sense of sexuality and gender roles). I was appalled at Harold's interest in Mosely's party. At least that was a bust and he had to go on to something else.
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