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To the Lighthouse
This is definitely one of my favorite books ever. Through the story of the Ramsay family, Woolf delivers an enchanting and intelligent story of domestic life and of the relationships between men and women. By celebrating everyday life, she champions women's traditional roles. Each time I read this novel, I am amazed at the cultural commentary Woolf included, and at its continued relevance to life today. And the ways she shows time passing in this novel are simply magnificent.
To the Lighthouse
I chose to read this book for a class when I was sixteen because a friend complained about it and said it was the most boring book in the world. I wondered if perhaps I might see something in it that she was missing.What a found was a very enjoyable literary style - this was my first exposure to "stream-of-consciousness" writing. I enjoyed the author's complex 3rd person omniscient shifting of perspectives through the various characters in the tale. The style had great affinity with my own very analytical and philosophical yet aesthetic mind at the time. I read this book not for an exciting plot; but, for the beauty in the writing itself. The themes in it were very abstract - such as the subject of being genuine and the like. "To the Lighthouse" has a very reflective quality about it. This book is certainly not for everyone; but, it is beyond a doubt a masterpiece for its kind.
To the Lighthouse
I'm not sure I'm supposed to do this but I'll anyway. This is the third time through this novel for me and after I finished my second reading, I posted my comments here (scroll down some).This reading, I was impressed by the relationship between the Ramsey's. Mr. Ramsey lives in the world of thought, rationality and verbal sword-play. But Mrs. Ramsey lives in the world of the heart; she is a nurturer, the caregiver, very intelligent, but not caught up in the territorial boundary lines that the men fight over with words. Yet Mr. Ramsey, and William Bankes, and Charles Tansley, they all find her beautiful, they admire her immensely. What strikes me is this: Mrs. Ramsey's beauty is an inner beauty of action, peace, harmony, and balance in her world. She brooks no false illusions about her place in the cosmos, she isn't vain, she's thoughtful and diligent. The men rely on her for this quality that they do not have in their own lives.In my last reveiw here, I thought this novel might fit into the emotional genre of fiction. Now I'm thinking that it might be the kind of literature used in marriage counselling.So, this is a novel that you can pick up and find something new in the reading. I need to let some time pass, but I'll tell you what I think on my next reading, too.
To the Lighthouse
Woolf's sentence structure is entrancing, and her descriptions of the thoughts of the characters are vivid. I was intrigued at what goes on inside of Woolf's head because of profundities such as "the very stone one kicks with one's boot will outlast Shakespeare," and "so much depends ... upon distance: whether people are near or far from us."It is nice that a book this intense can be a quick read. Anyone can read it and feel that they have accomplished something, not just the erudite. However, to really appreciate To the Lighthouse, you will have to read it a few times.Woolf's writing style will be hard for many. She forms many complex sentences. The book is mostly about the internal struggles of her characters rather than a physical action book. Still, this is a very poignant book, and her prose is artistry with a purpose.Skip the forward by Eudora Welty if you don't want a summary of the action of the book.
To the Lighthouse
There is only one way to describe this book: the way one would describe the cistine chapel or the Mona Lisa or Notre Dame. This is simply a classic. It breaks the confines of ordinary books to deliver a work of art that truly delves into the lives of its characters. I will admit, when I first started to read it I didn't quite get it. However, once I reached a certain part in the book, everything started to make sense (though that was largely a result of the class discussions on hte book). Those who criticise the book are seldom the people who finish it. If you want a light beach book to take to Florida over vacation, I suggest finding something else. However, if you want a challanging literary masterpiece, you've come to the right place.
To the Lighthouse
This book is essentially divided into two parts: a day in the life of a British family and their guests at a seaside cottage, and ten years after the death of the matriarch, Mrs. Ramsay. The writing is an example of 20th century excellence. The narrator may change from page to page, but the reader always knows who is speaking. Although some paragraphs are incredibly long, in the Henry James style, there is clarity throughout. Peppered here and there are little essays which can stand on their own. The character of Mrs. Ramsay is central and is seen through her own thoughts and through the thoughts of the others on one day. In the second half of the book, most of the original characters return to the house sometime after Mrs. Ramsay's death and we feel their loss. What is this loss that they and we feel? She has held up the potential and promise of the destinies of the others, even though they may never reach it, a lighthouse beacon which survives her mortality.