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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I cannot help but think that if I had read this when I was much younger... I would be somewhat different from the person that I am today.
I feel like either
A) I’m not yet mature enough to understand this book or
B) This book, for all its poetical waxing, is hollow. The author strived to illustrate the commonalities between characters and how people are innately connected to others, but I feel that she failed to achieve that. Bernard’s statement in the final soliloquy that he does not know whether he is Bernard or Neville or Susan etc. seems out of place and forced. The impression I had gotten from the novel was that each individual was contained, and only brushed up against others. I would point to Dorian Gray as a character who’s internal self was permanently and dramatically changed by the influence of another personality, but I would not point to any of the Waves’ characters. If anything, I would argue that their individuality was obvious from childhood and remained largely unchanged as they aged.
A) I’m not yet mature enough to understand this book or
B) This book, for all its poetical waxing, is hollow. The author strived to illustrate the commonalities between characters and how people are innately connected to others, but I feel that she failed to achieve that. Bernard’s statement in the final soliloquy that he does not know whether he is Bernard or Neville or Susan etc. seems out of place and forced. The impression I had gotten from the novel was that each individual was contained, and only brushed up against others. I would point to Dorian Gray as a character who’s internal self was permanently and dramatically changed by the influence of another personality, but I would not point to any of the Waves’ characters. If anything, I would argue that their individuality was obvious from childhood and remained largely unchanged as they aged.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Using modernist techniques, especially stream of consciousness narrative, has an appeal to me but this particular work isn't my favorite. I really enjoyed the voyage out much more this book evoked imagery in my head the voyage out did it more so.
Mainly, I found this book difficult to read. It took a while for me to figure out the style, and things got a little better after that, but after that I just found the subject matter boring. I'd rather read something else.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My favorite (?) Virginia Woolf, at least for several years. I tried to go back and read it last year, and it didn't grab me the way it once did. The writing, not surprisingly, seems forced; which it is, but it is sculpted in such a way that can bring tears to my eyes.
I spent a lot of time irritated by the book. I adore Woolf and gave her the benefit of a vast doubt, since I wouldn't have put up with a novel like this from most people and only did so because I know she's a genius, but she very nearly wore me out all the same. The turgidity of the prose at times was overwhelming, larded with lofty passive statements and aphorisms and so on. Much of the time I had to reread sentences or paragraphs or entire pages I'd already read because my mind wandered incessantly, and even on second reading some of it bored me to distraction. About halfway through I considered giving it up but still had enough faith that she'd pull it together. She eventually did: the 40-page soliloquy that ends the book manages to pack in all the brilliance and beauty and insight into living I'd expected from the beginning, and I actually slowed my reading down to better take it all in. So the brilliance is there, though the format didn't, to my ear, do it much of a favour. Leave it to Woolf to pull it off nonetheless.
I gave up a long time ago trying to understand the too complex plots of Virginia Wolf, so I appreciate her sentences, some of which are unforgettable, and I think about some of the statements that she wrote. It's still a book worth reading.
Ho rinunciato da tempo a seguire le trame troppo complesse di Virginia Wolf, quindi mi limito e leggere le sue frasi, alcune delle quali indimenticabili, e a riflettere su alcune affermazioni che mette in bocca ai suoi personaggi. Resta comunque un libro valido, anche se letto in forma di aforismi.
Ho rinunciato da tempo a seguire le trame troppo complesse di Virginia Wolf, quindi mi limito e leggere le sue frasi, alcune delle quali indimenticabili, e a riflettere su alcune affermazioni che mette in bocca ai suoi personaggi. Resta comunque un libro valido, anche se letto in forma di aforismi.