novels

To the Lighthouse is a dazzling work of art that illustrates with great clarity the dynamic nature of human thought and perception. "How can an artist do that?", one might reasonably ask. Well,if that artist is Virginia Woolf, the answer is, "With unmistakeable genius". While Woolf's influence is seen everywhere in works of literature that would follow, one must keep in mind that the literary technique employed for most of the novel, stream of consciousness, was still very radical and experimental at the time it was written. Woolf's portrait of the thoughts that pass through the minds of family members and their houseguests at the seaside and her harnessing and transformation of the essence of time and into words is nothing short of awe-inspiring. That she also manages to tell a story and develop rich characters that the reader cares about while painting these portraits of thought and time is utterly amazing. Then, there are her words which connect it all; beautiful words that flow like the sea and color like a paintbrush. It is no accident that one of the main characters, Lily, is a painter, who with her strokes of the brush intermingling with her thoughts, tells this story.
Although considered a modernist, as was James Joyce (who also employed stream of consciousness in his works), I found this novel more accessible than Ulysses. It was as if Woolf wanted to create a work that would touch as many people as possible, while Joyce had developed a private code that only a select few could crack. While (trying) to read Ulysses I felt intimidated, left behind; while immersed in To the Lighthouse, I felt invited and included. For a taste of modernist literature at it's most inviting and poetic, I recommend To the Lighthouse!

Take my word for it--if you've not read Virginia Woolf before--you need to be in the mood to read her. I think her books can be unbearable otherwise. However, I was in the mood for "To the Lighthouse," and I thought it was terrific.

I've been much more intrigued by Virginia Woolf after Michael Cunningham's "The Hours," (and the subsequent film) brought her back into the limelight. She was fascinated with the degree to which everyday, seemingly trivial details of life can seem to be matters upon which the state of the world hinge in the lives of those experiencing them. Therefore, in Virginia Woolf's world, the decision as to whether or not a vacationing family will visit a lighthouse on the following day becomes the focus of everyone's thoughts--to a little boy, it seems as if his world will end if he doesn't get to go; to the father, his ability to determine whether or not they will go gives him a sense of power and authority over his wife and children.

And at the center of all this non-drama is Mrs. Ramsay, wife and mother, who is the foundation upon which the family is built. Woolf is expert in communicating the influence Mrs. Ramsay has on those around her. Everyone is struck by her beauty, her bearing, her very existence. It's this quality in her that makes so many wives and mothers the center of their respective families, which gives "To the Lighthouse" a sort of universality that resonated very strongly with me.

There has been a lot of literary study on the psychology of the novel (especially Freudian), which has become somewhat less interesting as Freud has become commonplace. I would instead appreciate it for the utter mastery of language exhibited by Woolf, and the insights she has into male/female relationships.

"To the Lighthouse" is one of those books that left me feeling incredibly sad in a very satisfied way, and I can't even tell you why. I don't always enjoy such ethereal writing (I don't even enjoy other books by Woolf) but in this case I enjoyed every word.

So here we have Mrs Woolf masterpiece, her great achievement at grasping time. This is a book for those that like a challenge in reading. It is not passive reading, Virginia needs your whole attention throughout the novel, and if you are lucky and get inside you will hace a wonderfull experience, you will be there with her and the characters, reading with a dim light, saling towards the lighthouse, painting, the air will brush your face and you will smell salt and sea and be dizzy after lunch. I do not Know if what she tells really interested me because it was jus something you experiment. Good chance