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irreverentreader's review
2.0
Let me preface this by saying that in college I loved reading Virginia Woolf's essays. I greatly admired her ability to express herself in elegant prose and get her point across in a concise, understandable way. But when I read Mrs. Dalloway and Flush in my English classes, I was no where near as impressed. Therefore, I thought I owed it to the great writer to give her fiction one more chance...and now I've decided that I'll be sticking only to her non-fiction in the future.
This book set me WAY back in my reading goals for the year. It was a slog. After reading the blurb on the back and being significantly intrigued, I could hardly believe I was on the edge of sleep after twenty pages EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I picked it up. In in 442, practically nothing happens. And that would be okay if there was fascinating inner-life of the characters to entertain me. But there were two major road blocks to that.
1) The characters were entirely inane and ridiculous (and not in a good way). I couldn't understand or relate to them for the life of me. Katherine, the "heroine" of the novel, who is chased after by two men, could not be a more dull and unidentifiable character. She has no interesting traits or intelligent thoughts. I couldn't figure out why they loved her. Neither do the two men chasing her boast much in the way of any positive characteristics. The only character in the whole novel that I was interested in reading about was Mary, who was treated unfairly and glossed over for the most part.
2) This book had very strange emotionality. It was as if all the characters were bipolar. Cold fishes one moment, hormonal teenagers the next. In a single paragraph, they would go from hating someone to loving someone, to finding something of disgust in another, to admiring them. For the life of me, I couldn't understand it. It felt really stilted, as if a robot was trying to write human emotion. In this way, it reminded me a lot of Sons and Lovers by DH Lawerence, and that is a comparison that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
The only reason this book at all gets two stars is because Woolf's writing is undoubtably beautiful in it's construction. I'm sorry that she ever felt the need to prove herself as a writer by composing a domestic novel because it really downgrades her in my opinion. Seriously don't read; it is terribly boring.
This book set me WAY back in my reading goals for the year. It was a slog. After reading the blurb on the back and being significantly intrigued, I could hardly believe I was on the edge of sleep after twenty pages EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I picked it up. In in 442, practically nothing happens. And that would be okay if there was fascinating inner-life of the characters to entertain me. But there were two major road blocks to that.
1) The characters were entirely inane and ridiculous (and not in a good way). I couldn't understand or relate to them for the life of me. Katherine, the "heroine" of the novel, who is chased after by two men, could not be a more dull and unidentifiable character. She has no interesting traits or intelligent thoughts. I couldn't figure out why they loved her. Neither do the two men chasing her boast much in the way of any positive characteristics. The only character in the whole novel that I was interested in reading about was Mary, who was treated unfairly and glossed over for the most part.
2) This book had very strange emotionality. It was as if all the characters were bipolar. Cold fishes one moment, hormonal teenagers the next. In a single paragraph, they would go from hating someone to loving someone, to finding something of disgust in another, to admiring them. For the life of me, I couldn't understand it. It felt really stilted, as if a robot was trying to write human emotion. In this way, it reminded me a lot of Sons and Lovers by DH Lawerence, and that is a comparison that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
The only reason this book at all gets two stars is because Woolf's writing is undoubtably beautiful in it's construction. I'm sorry that she ever felt the need to prove herself as a writer by composing a domestic novel because it really downgrades her in my opinion. Seriously don't read; it is terribly boring.
allisontitus's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
arewefalling's review
4.0
once again, i listened to the audiobook of this back in April. And once again, Virginia woolf came to slay
ayazhan's review
rating this book is impossible. the line between sincerity and pure farce is incredibly blurry — the style is very different from what I would expect from Woolf usually. very character-driven. Mary I loved — she is a saint and the sole voice of reason. the last fourth of this book compelled me to conclude that Katharine, Ralph, and William were all clinically insane. Ralph and William especially also had the vice of being annoying men, which is infinitely worse than insanity. despite it all, there was something endearing about the love and the loneliness.
floraelmcolone's review against another edition
4.0
what strikes me across all of vw’s books is the clarity of her feeling of being an outsider in some way that always shines through— she is rachel vinrace clarissa dalloway lily briscoe rhoda katharine hilbery (me vs identifying with the wealthy heroine searching for a sense of purpose)
much more romance-oriented/plot driven than any of her other books i’ve read. probably my second least favorite of hers so far though (between the acts being at the bottom)
much more romance-oriented/plot driven than any of her other books i’ve read. probably my second least favorite of hers so far though (between the acts being at the bottom)
al13ex's review
1.0
So many times I felt tempted to put it down, give it up and just go on to something more enjoyable! These harsh words come from the fact that the pace of the book was really slow, the action was unidentifiable and the characters just couldn't make up their minds. I'm still a bit frustrated that I spent so much time on it, but after much consideration, I did find something interesting here...
There's a lot of insight on the characters' thoughts, but I had to dig really deep to begin to understand what they really desire and what their feelings are, the latter being extremely difficult, when they don't know themselves. Besides, they change their minds and feelings so often, I started to bet for another change with every opportunity. There's a lot of talk about the women's suffrage, which is an important factor for that time (the book being published in 1919, the action would take place around that period, as well), but it actually doesn't go anywhere with it. Maybe it only helps in modeling the changes that take place in the society. Women started to work and thought about it as a salvation (from their own thoughts and lives), they fight for their right to vote and there even is talk about living with a man without being married to him. There is definitely a new freedom for them and, despite people talking (which will never end), their relationship with men is quite different from the nineteenth century. I don't remember reading any other book set in this period and I suppose I had a little shock, imagining how the transition actually took place.
Well, I am truly glad that I managed to finish the book, because it was truly one of the longest books I've ever read, and not because of its page number.
There's a lot of insight on the characters' thoughts, but I had to dig really deep to begin to understand what they really desire and what their feelings are, the latter being extremely difficult, when they don't know themselves. Besides, they change their minds and feelings so often, I started to bet for another change with every opportunity. There's a lot of talk about the women's suffrage, which is an important factor for that time (the book being published in 1919, the action would take place around that period, as well), but it actually doesn't go anywhere with it. Maybe it only helps in modeling the changes that take place in the society. Women started to work and thought about it as a salvation (from their own thoughts and lives), they fight for their right to vote and there even is talk about living with a man without being married to him. There is definitely a new freedom for them and, despite people talking (which will never end), their relationship with men is quite different from the nineteenth century. I don't remember reading any other book set in this period and I suppose I had a little shock, imagining how the transition actually took place.
Well, I am truly glad that I managed to finish the book, because it was truly one of the longest books I've ever read, and not because of its page number.
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
3.0
"When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don't seem to matter very much, do they?"
To be perfectly honest, I was not very impressed with Virginia Woolf's first novel.
Her characteristic writing is there, clever and intuitive, eeking truth from the slightest of human gestures. The writing, in fact, is what saved this book a star.
The actual story itself, unfortunately, is just so boring. The plot goes in the same circles again and again, Katharine and Rodney not getting along, Ralph's obsession with Katharine, Mary, the sad observer of it all. Even worse, the characters themselves were fitfully dull and wholly self-absorbed. I really did not care at all what happened to them, disliking rather than sympathizing with them.
Thankfully, this is not my first Woolf, and I know to expect better from her. I would certainly not recommend starting your Woolf journey with this one.
vincentkonrad's review
Dragged a bit in the middle, but really picked up in the end.