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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up my first Virginia Woolf novel on a whim, toward the end of a beach vacation. I think Patricia Lockwood mentioned something about Woolf in No One is Talking About This, and I felt like I had already gone too far in my life not knowing what Woolf was like.
I've never been afraid of Virginia Woolf, but I'm glad I finally understand why some people are.
I've never been afraid of Virginia Woolf, but I'm glad I finally understand why some people are.
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I tried to read this book several times over the past few decades. I couldn't get into it...couldn't find the rhythm.
But I picked it up this summer (2008) and better appreciate it this time around. I find it creates a bridge (on a structural level) between Mrs Dalloway and The Waves, both of which I admire greatly. Woolf is moving more and more away from the episodic structure of Mrs. D and into these rhapsodies and interior monologues, which paves the way for The Waves.
Still, it may not be one of my favorite novels by Virginia Woolf, although I think it has been thought of as one of her strongest acheivements. I know university professors have students read it (which may be a mistake - I definitely think Mrs Dalloway is a better place with start with VW), which has resulted in many friends saying they don't like VW. That's a shame, and I can only say I am happy I returned to it after a few mis-fires.
I find some of the musings to read a bit empty at times, and the middle section (Time Passes) seems awkward for me. It's clear she wanted this section to produce a contrasting, more impersonal view of the world of The Ramsays, in order to balance out the book-end sections (beginning and end), which are brimming with interior monologues and personal epiphanies. Nonetheless, it feels patched in, a bit foreign, and the deaths of two of the children and Mrs Ramsay are treated almost in a flippant manner, which seems out of place considering the way the first half reads. But of course, she explores their deaths later in the novel (during The Lighthouse episode), but through the eyes of the surviving characters. Nonetheless, in the case of Lily in particular, her absence allows certain things to blossom. Mr Ramsay even softens in her absence.
Somehow I find myself sympathizing with Mr Ramsay in a way I was never able to do in earlier readings of this book. That may be a little scary, given the rather cold, academic nature of his personality.
Finally, in response to some recent discussion on the VW list, I find (after some initial resistance) a fine connection with Woolf and Proust - as both writers seeemed to spend a good deal of time examining the connection of all things in this world - between people and objects; landscapes and emotions - and the list goes on. In this way, I see both writers dealing with spirituality in a non-religious way. The unity of creation and our consciousness with all living things suggests the presence of the divine. And this presence only appears when one is truly awake, not following blindly the dogma of religion.
But I picked it up this summer (2008) and better appreciate it this time around. I find it creates a bridge (on a structural level) between Mrs Dalloway and The Waves, both of which I admire greatly. Woolf is moving more and more away from the episodic structure of Mrs. D and into these rhapsodies and interior monologues, which paves the way for The Waves.
Still, it may not be one of my favorite novels by Virginia Woolf, although I think it has been thought of as one of her strongest acheivements. I know university professors have students read it (which may be a mistake - I definitely think Mrs Dalloway is a better place with start with VW), which has resulted in many friends saying they don't like VW. That's a shame, and I can only say I am happy I returned to it after a few mis-fires.
I find some of the musings to read a bit empty at times, and the middle section (Time Passes) seems awkward for me. It's clear she wanted this section to produce a contrasting, more impersonal view of the world of The Ramsays, in order to balance out the book-end sections (beginning and end), which are brimming with interior monologues and personal epiphanies. Nonetheless, it feels patched in, a bit foreign, and the deaths of two of the children and Mrs Ramsay are treated almost in a flippant manner, which seems out of place considering the way the first half reads. But of course, she explores their deaths later in the novel (during The Lighthouse episode), but through the eyes of the surviving characters. Nonetheless, in the case of Lily in particular, her absence allows certain things to blossom. Mr Ramsay even softens in her absence.
Somehow I find myself sympathizing with Mr Ramsay in a way I was never able to do in earlier readings of this book. That may be a little scary, given the rather cold, academic nature of his personality.
Finally, in response to some recent discussion on the VW list, I find (after some initial resistance) a fine connection with Woolf and Proust - as both writers seeemed to spend a good deal of time examining the connection of all things in this world - between people and objects; landscapes and emotions - and the list goes on. In this way, I see both writers dealing with spirituality in a non-religious way. The unity of creation and our consciousness with all living things suggests the presence of the divine. And this presence only appears when one is truly awake, not following blindly the dogma of religion.
"But that was one way of knowing people, she thought: to know the outline, not the detail." -195
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
slow-paced
I have tried to read this several times before and I really want to like it, but I don't. Actually, there is nothing in this book that I like. It's just not for me.
Just to be clear this is merely an opinion. Just a warning before my critique.
I found the book quite boring. The whole books takes place between two days in two very different times but I still couldn't really follow it. Nothing really happens and I don't mean action wise. I mean there's no clear character growth or any personality. I get the whole symbolism of the lighthouse being a dream that might never be reached. The painting of the tree and the lost jewelry but still just good if you want to just get bored.
I found the book quite boring. The whole books takes place between two days in two very different times but I still couldn't really follow it. Nothing really happens and I don't mean action wise. I mean there's no clear character growth or any personality. I get the whole symbolism of the lighthouse being a dream that might never be reached. The painting of the tree and the lost jewelry but still just good if you want to just get bored.