Reviews

The Virginia Woolf Collection by Virginia Woolf

emmak2012's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

3.0

klacebo's review against another edition

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4.0

Whoo boy, that was a lot.

4 books by Virginia Woolf back to back was demanding mentally, yet rewarding in the end. Woolf doesn't serve a plot on a plate to be tasted, she doesn't allow you to develop feelings on your own. No, she dictates, she tells you what to feel, and if you give her the attention required, by the time you're done you'll be grateful for it.

Mrs Dalloway 5/5
Kristin Scott Thomas does a marvelous job of narrating this masterpiece, I can't say anything here that hasn't been said before.

To the Lighthouse 4,5/5
A little harder to follow, but no less satisfying

A Room of One's Own 5/5
I can't imagine anyone else but Tilda Swinton narrating this one. Even though addressed towards a female audience, and me being a male listener, I got the urge to start writing too, under a female pen name.

The Waves 3/5
This was the hardest one to finish. Maybe because I should have taken a break after the previous three, or because of its experimental style, while the narration was top notch, sometimes I blanked out and had to rewind to catch up.

frasersimons's review against another edition

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4.0

The narration in each of these books is absolutely perfect. I skipped Mrs Dalloway, as I’d already read that, but am sure to return to it at some point, as I’d love to see what it’s like via narration. I listened just enough to know that it’s got a wonderful performance.

To the Lighthouse 5 stars
An easy 5 stars too. I read that the prose are quite dense on page? Well try it narrated, because it absolutely flew when read aloud. Jessie Buckley did a phenomenal job. I had my covid shot and was feeling sick, so just lay in bed listening, doing nothing else whatsoever, and consumed it whole in one sitting.

A Room of One’s Own: 4 stars
I liked this quite a bit but it is, literally, listening to an essay, so while it’s got Woolf’s prose and an engaging subject, it’s not as meaningful to me as others. This was more like 3.5 rounded up, for me. Especially because it followed To the Lighthouse, which completely took me by surprise.

The Waves 5 Stars
Another easy 5 stars, cementing Woolf as a favourite of mine. I suspect just through prose work alone I could read anything by her, and plan to consume more of her work. Structurally engaging, fantastic character work, meaningful, poignant. I can’t say enough good things about this. It has To the Lighthouse beat, probably. But mostly because of the interesting concept and structure and genre bending weirdness that works.
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