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A review by mescalero_at_bat
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
5.0
it's kind of hard to believe that this is virginia woolf's first novel. it's possible i avoided investing in it over the years because of it - which is weird, because i tend to like exploring the first film or book by an artist who i admire - and to say that i admire virginia woolf would be understating.
it's not so much the what happens, although what happens is interesting, especially looking at the english views of indigenous life in south america - but it's the inner lives of the characters and the depth of perception that woolf brings that is the hallmark of her work. and with all of that, after so much happening, it was amazing to see how she chose to end the book (i won't give anything away, but just WOW).
and so i think i've read all the novels now, all the diaries, most of the letters and most all of the non-fiction prose. woolf might be an acquired taste, because she tends to examine a very particular society at a very particular era, but if you get past the "otherness" of her perspectives, there is a treasure chest of literature waiting for you. her range of style is intrinsically linked to her subjects, and her ability to see into human consciousness and perception is what brings me back again and again.
it's not so much the what happens, although what happens is interesting, especially looking at the english views of indigenous life in south america - but it's the inner lives of the characters and the depth of perception that woolf brings that is the hallmark of her work. and with all of that, after so much happening, it was amazing to see how she chose to end the book (i won't give anything away, but just WOW).
and so i think i've read all the novels now, all the diaries, most of the letters and most all of the non-fiction prose. woolf might be an acquired taste, because she tends to examine a very particular society at a very particular era, but if you get past the "otherness" of her perspectives, there is a treasure chest of literature waiting for you. her range of style is intrinsically linked to her subjects, and her ability to see into human consciousness and perception is what brings me back again and again.