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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I was going to give this 3.5 stars but then, the ending got a bit of my emotional side and I could not resist giving it some extra love.
"What is it to be in love?" she demanded, after a long silence; each word as it came into being seemed to shove itself out into an unknown sea. Hypnotised by the wings of the butterfly, and awed by the discovery of a terrible possibility in life, she sat for some time longer. When the butterfly flew away, she rose, and with her two books beneath her arm returned home again, much as a soldier prepared for battle.
With this novel I had the same problem I had had when reading [b:Flush|18844|Flush|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1287554256l/18844._SY75_.jpg|3461240] just a couple of weeks ago.
And that was how conventional this story proved to be.
Conventionality became a slight issue here but not a terrible one. In fact, it was not too difficult to let go of this problem while reading the story, which actually might have been a direct side-effect of its ordinary writing style in the first place. Like an endless circle of trying to find the origin of the problem.
But, you see, the problem here was that this was not a bad book, not at all. It is well written, the plot proves consistent from beginning to end, and some of the characters are well crafted enough to elicit an emotional response. That is all fine and dandy if you ask me... except for the tiny detail that by virtue of being so average in terms of execution, you end up with the feeling this could have been written by many, many other authors.
It did not read like a Virginia Woolf novel, not even thanks to the surprising cameo of her most popular character.
*
Of course, I can only give her the benefit of the doubt considering this was her first novel.
It is almost fascinating to watch the evolution from one point to another of the same person, the evolution of her pen and the increase in sophistication of her ideas and themes. This was a novel about people taking a boat from England towards South America (and a discussion of colonialism and imperialism would fit perfectly at this point alongside [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392799983l/4900._SX50_.jpg|2877220]) and doing pretty much nothing with their time except taking breakfast, luncheon, tea, and dinner. As per usual, nothing too shocking happens during the story much like Woolf's entire body of work (or at least, from what I have read so far since I am, shocking no one, an expert). Yet, the still freshness of her narrative voice sets this novel apart from the rest, as if she was still struggling to find herself among the ocean of other authors plaguing the publishing world at that same time.
It is clear from this novel that it would take another couple of years for her to find such voice at all.
For some minutes the rain continued to rattle upon the skylight, and the thunder gave another shake or two; but it was evident from the clearing of the darkness and the light drumming of the rain upon the roof, that the great confused ocean of air was travelling away from them, and passing high over head with its clouds and its rods of fire, out to sea. The building, which had seemed so small in the tumult of the storm, now became as square and spacious as usual
**
"What is it to be in love?" she demanded, after a long silence; each word as it came into being seemed to shove itself out into an unknown sea. Hypnotised by the wings of the butterfly, and awed by the discovery of a terrible possibility in life, she sat for some time longer. When the butterfly flew away, she rose, and with her two books beneath her arm returned home again, much as a soldier prepared for battle.
With this novel I had the same problem I had had when reading [b:Flush|18844|Flush|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1287554256l/18844._SY75_.jpg|3461240] just a couple of weeks ago.
And that was how conventional this story proved to be.
Conventionality became a slight issue here but not a terrible one. In fact, it was not too difficult to let go of this problem while reading the story, which actually might have been a direct side-effect of its ordinary writing style in the first place. Like an endless circle of trying to find the origin of the problem.
But, you see, the problem here was that this was not a bad book, not at all. It is well written, the plot proves consistent from beginning to end, and some of the characters are well crafted enough to elicit an emotional response. That is all fine and dandy if you ask me... except for the tiny detail that by virtue of being so average in terms of execution, you end up with the feeling this could have been written by many, many other authors.
It did not read like a Virginia Woolf novel, not even thanks to the surprising cameo of her most popular character.
*
Spoiler
In fact, that was one of the most bizarre elements of this novel. Mrs Dalloway did not read like the real Mrs Dalloway, if that makes any sense considering she has always been a piece of fiction. In fact, when she appeared alongside her husband and started talking, it almost gave me the feeling that this was someone else trying to write Clarissa Dalloway inspired by the original book and inevitably failingOf course, I can only give her the benefit of the doubt considering this was her first novel.
It is almost fascinating to watch the evolution from one point to another of the same person, the evolution of her pen and the increase in sophistication of her ideas and themes. This was a novel about people taking a boat from England towards South America (and a discussion of colonialism and imperialism would fit perfectly at this point alongside [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392799983l/4900._SX50_.jpg|2877220]) and doing pretty much nothing with their time except taking breakfast, luncheon, tea, and dinner. As per usual, nothing too shocking happens during the story much like Woolf's entire body of work (or at least, from what I have read so far since I am, shocking no one, an expert). Yet, the still freshness of her narrative voice sets this novel apart from the rest, as if she was still struggling to find herself among the ocean of other authors plaguing the publishing world at that same time.
It is clear from this novel that it would take another couple of years for her to find such voice at all.
For some minutes the rain continued to rattle upon the skylight, and the thunder gave another shake or two; but it was evident from the clearing of the darkness and the light drumming of the rain upon the roof, that the great confused ocean of air was travelling away from them, and passing high over head with its clouds and its rods of fire, out to sea. The building, which had seemed so small in the tumult of the storm, now became as square and spacious as usual
**
Spoiler
As I was reading Terence's farewell to Rachel I could not help myself feeling my eyes slightly watery. It was both sweet and morbid to find almost the exact phrasing of Virginia Woolf's suicide letter to her husband on a scene about a man losing the woman who almost became his wife
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(6) - read for uni
There's a lot of really interesting elements within this book (including our good friend Clarissa). Some of the prose is beautiful and satirical and what made the book worth reading.
However, I'm not going to pretend that I had any idea who a lot of the people were in this novel or why they existed, but I kind of feel like that doesn't matter? It's not the point. I enjoyed it a lot more than 'Night and Day.'
It's also fairly apparent that Woolf was struggling personally as she wrote the novel, and is reflected within the text which is never easy to read.
There's a lot of really interesting elements within this book (including our good friend Clarissa). Some of the prose is beautiful and satirical and what made the book worth reading.
However, I'm not going to pretend that I had any idea who a lot of the people were in this novel or why they existed, but I kind of feel like that doesn't matter? It's not the point. I enjoyed it a lot more than 'Night and Day.'
It's also fairly apparent that Woolf was struggling personally as she wrote the novel, and is reflected within the text which is never easy to read.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it. Great to see where she begins as a novelist--a more conventional narrative structure and chronology. Some favorite quotes below:
"When two people have been married for years they seem to become unconscious of each other's bodily presence so that they move as if alone, speak aloud things while they do not expect to be answered, and in general seem to experience all the comfort of solitude without its loneliness."
"While Christ spoke they made another effort to fit his interpretation of life upon the lives they lived, but as they were all very different, some practical, some ambitious, some stupid, some wild and experimental, some in love, and others long past any feeling expect a feeling of comfort, they did very different things with the words of Christ."
"He did not know her, and he did not know what she felt, or whether they could live together, or whether he wanted to marry her, and yet he was in love with her."
"After one of these glances she murmured, 'Yes, I'm in love. There's no doubt; I'm in love with you.'
Nevertheless, they remained uncomfortably apart; drawn so close together, as she spoke, that there seemed no division between them, and the next moment separate and far away again. Feeling this painfully, she exclaimed, 'It will be a fight.'"
"So beautiful was the sound of their voices that by degrees they scarcely listened to the words they framed. Long silences came between their words, which were no longer silences of struggle and confusion but refreshing silences, in which trivial thoughts moved easily."
"So too, although she was going to marry him and to live with him for thirty, or forty, or fifty years, and to quarrel, and to be so close to him, she was independent of him; she was independent of everything else. Nevertheless, as St. John said, it was love that made her understand this, for she had never felt this independence, this calm, and this certainty until she fell in love with him, and perhaps this too was love. She wanted nothing else."
"When two people have been married for years they seem to become unconscious of each other's bodily presence so that they move as if alone, speak aloud things while they do not expect to be answered, and in general seem to experience all the comfort of solitude without its loneliness."
"While Christ spoke they made another effort to fit his interpretation of life upon the lives they lived, but as they were all very different, some practical, some ambitious, some stupid, some wild and experimental, some in love, and others long past any feeling expect a feeling of comfort, they did very different things with the words of Christ."
"He did not know her, and he did not know what she felt, or whether they could live together, or whether he wanted to marry her, and yet he was in love with her."
"After one of these glances she murmured, 'Yes, I'm in love. There's no doubt; I'm in love with you.'
Nevertheless, they remained uncomfortably apart; drawn so close together, as she spoke, that there seemed no division between them, and the next moment separate and far away again. Feeling this painfully, she exclaimed, 'It will be a fight.'"
"So beautiful was the sound of their voices that by degrees they scarcely listened to the words they framed. Long silences came between their words, which were no longer silences of struggle and confusion but refreshing silences, in which trivial thoughts moved easily."
"So too, although she was going to marry him and to live with him for thirty, or forty, or fifty years, and to quarrel, and to be so close to him, she was independent of him; she was independent of everything else. Nevertheless, as St. John said, it was love that made her understand this, for she had never felt this independence, this calm, and this certainty until she fell in love with him, and perhaps this too was love. She wanted nothing else."
pretty sure rachel and st. john are foils in this — both individuals that have explored themselves outside of their characters in relation to the other sex and with that realisation, the novel took a more feministic undertone for me towards the end.
i'm feeling quite mixed about the open-endedness on the romance of life where rachel was a happy observer and pretty much experienced imposter syndrome from being involved in high society but woolf's writing is flawless — i would read her grocery lists for the rest of my life and be happy so you could say i was very happily distracted from most of the plot
i'm feeling quite mixed about the open-endedness on the romance of life where rachel was a happy observer and pretty much experienced imposter syndrome from being involved in high society but woolf's writing is flawless — i would read her grocery lists for the rest of my life and be happy so you could say i was very happily distracted from most of the plot
reflective
I guess it was an OK read, but nothing more. It was WW's first book, so I hope her others will be better.
I liked:
1) the clear descriptions of emotions, of weather.
2) the gentleness of it.
I disliked:
3) the lack of logic between some chapters.
4) the overflow of characters.
5) that the illness didn't come sooner, as a consequence of the trip.
6) in general, more sense and logic and plotting.
I liked:
1) the clear descriptions of emotions, of weather.
2) the gentleness of it.
I disliked:
3) the lack of logic between some chapters.
4) the overflow of characters.
5) that the illness didn't come sooner, as a consequence of the trip.
6) in general, more sense and logic and plotting.
adventurous
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"Where do I travel to find peace in myself?"
Not my favorite one from Virginia Woolf, but as always it was beautifully written. I felt at the beginning Virginia was struggling to find her own style, being caught between the conventions of the Edwardian era and her desire to write modernly by giving depth to the inner life of the different characters.
I liked how the relationship between Rachel and Terrence is not always perfect, that we see them having doubts and concerns about their relationship at some instances, while at some others they are able to recognize the feeling of happiness when they are together.
I would not recommend to start reading Virginia Woolf with this book, but if you have already read some of her other pieces, then this one should also make it into your list of books written by Virginia.
Not my favorite one from Virginia Woolf, but as always it was beautifully written. I felt at the beginning Virginia was struggling to find her own style, being caught between the conventions of the Edwardian era and her desire to write modernly by giving depth to the inner life of the different characters.
I liked how the relationship between Rachel and Terrence is not always perfect, that we see them having doubts and concerns about their relationship at some instances, while at some others they are able to recognize the feeling of happiness when they are together.
I would not recommend to start reading Virginia Woolf with this book, but if you have already read some of her other pieces, then this one should also make it into your list of books written by Virginia.