It was a Sunday evening in October, and in common with many other young ladies of her class, Katharine Hilbery was pouring out tea. Perhaps a fifth...
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Sep 25, 2011
pearl
rated it: 
Not what I expected at all--which was "Yay! More Mrs. Dalloway!" I should have known better, because this is very early Woolf, and stylistically it is quite different (a straightforward narrative in a "classic comic structure").
Now, I have gripes about this book, but they are hard to explain. It is well-written and beautiful, but I felt a distinct lack of empathy for the main character Katharine, whom I had wanted so much to like. Her personality and circumstances More...
Now, I have gripes about this book, but they are hard to explain. It is well-written and beautiful, but I felt a distinct lack of empathy for the main character Katharine, whom I had wanted so much to like. Her personality and circumstances More...
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Sep 28, 2008
Lavinia
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The book focuses on the British bourgeoisie with its specific stereotypes and the contrasting relationship between two friends. Of course the book is very introspective and the connections between the characters very complicated. Somehow I found this book to have similarities with Pride and Prejudice, through its theme and the characters’ strength.
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noapte si zi e al doilea roman al virginiei woolf si al patrulea pe care-l incerc eu. mi-au placut mult 'mrs. dalloway' si " More...
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noapte si zi e al doilea roman al virginiei woolf si al patrulea pe care-l incerc eu. mi-au placut mult 'mrs. dalloway' si " More...
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Oct 22, 2007
Jennifer
rated it:
at first i loved this book--it's crystal clear insight into the heads of 4 different people who are alternatingly in and out of love with each other, and who continuously misunderstand each other. a brain-y 'friends' (don't kill me literati.) also illustrating our fundamental alienation and how we are continuously misreading one another. and lots of good writing.
it's good to read in small bits, and i found myself really identifying with different characters at different times. hah More...
it's good to read in small bits, and i found myself really identifying with different characters at different times. hah More...
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Jan 30, 2012
Jaye
rated it:
Surprisingly relevant and a joy to read if not slowly and with lots of breaks in between.
What I enjoyed most is also the part of Woolf that I have avoided: her feminism a la A Room of One's Own. The undercurrent of political movements and striving for what at the time seemed an unreachable goal, the women's right to vote, as shown through the character of Mary Datchet, was one that a year ago if I had read it would only have been interested in the historic aspects of someone having li More...
What I enjoyed most is also the part of Woolf that I have avoided: her feminism a la A Room of One's Own. The undercurrent of political movements and striving for what at the time seemed an unreachable goal, the women's right to vote, as shown through the character of Mary Datchet, was one that a year ago if I had read it would only have been interested in the historic aspects of someone having li More...
Sep 29, 2011
Yvette
rated it: 
I'm going to have a lot of haters after this review.
Yes, yes, it's a Virginia Woolf Classic - got that! Yes, she is a literary goddess and her writing is beautiful. That is not in debate here. HOWEVER, this book kinda sucked! It made me want to crawl out of my skin at times. It dragged. Many times I said, "Enough already!" I know that at times the dragging on was suppose to be comical, but it wasn't funny to me. Maybe as a play I would be able to appreciate the co More...
Yes, yes, it's a Virginia Woolf Classic - got that! Yes, she is a literary goddess and her writing is beautiful. That is not in debate here. HOWEVER, this book kinda sucked! It made me want to crawl out of my skin at times. It dragged. Many times I said, "Enough already!" I know that at times the dragging on was suppose to be comical, but it wasn't funny to me. Maybe as a play I would be able to appreciate the co More...
Apr 15, 2011
Sean
rated it:
Woolf's 1915, Night and Day is a romantic novel about wrongly matched partners recognising their mistake in the nick of time. Critics of this work focus on the form of the novel as the crucial factor in determining its effect and meaning. A quote from the book's preface: 'By the time Woolf had completed the novel she was fully aware of the limitations that form imposed and had realised that, while parody and subversion could propose their own critique, the choice of fictional form nevertheless d
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Jan 17, 2012
Olduvai
rated it:
Oh Virginia Woolf, there is so much to say but will be left unsaid because that’s how things seem to work in your world. Things left unsaid.
For that seems to be how it is in Night and Day. In this London society where cupid’s arrows seem to have flown haphazardly. For Mary loves Ralph who loves Katherine who doesn’t love William who might love Cassandra and not Katherine (his fiancée).
And signals are crossed or missed entirely. And hands are wrung, sighs are sighed, walks are More...
For that seems to be how it is in Night and Day. In this London society where cupid’s arrows seem to have flown haphazardly. For Mary loves Ralph who loves Katherine who doesn’t love William who might love Cassandra and not Katherine (his fiancée).
And signals are crossed or missed entirely. And hands are wrung, sighs are sighed, walks are More...
Sep 06, 2011
Ann
rated it: 
This book is about love and marriage - how relationships are affected by social mores and perceived obligations. Woolf also asks the bigger questions: What is love? What constitutes marriage? What is necessary for marital happiness? Is marriage necessary for happiness? What is happiness?
These are the questions facing Katherine Hilbery, who has been a willing, but bored, drudge, helping her mother with the task of researching her worthy grandfather, a well-known poet and family icon. More...
These are the questions facing Katherine Hilbery, who has been a willing, but bored, drudge, helping her mother with the task of researching her worthy grandfather, a well-known poet and family icon. More...
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Apr 16, 2011
russell
rated it:
For some reason, the spring always makes me want to read Virginia Woolf, possibly because many of her novels are set there, and feel bright and clear. Night and Day is no different, although it's also an amazingly warm love story, which I didn't expect, and a brilliant London novel.
Her second work, there are only hints of the stream-of-consciousness style she later developed, and where they do appear the connection between strands of thoughts is incongruously clunky, instead there's a More...
Her second work, there are only hints of the stream-of-consciousness style she later developed, and where they do appear the connection between strands of thoughts is incongruously clunky, instead there's a More...
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Nov 11, 2010
Michael
rated it:
Beautiful book. At first I was a little disoriented with the Denham /Katerine relationship and thought Denham a bit of a upstart and Katherine a bit of a Ms. Dalloway running tea parties. . But as the story goes on we recognize Denham's world vison. Katherine who also is unhappy in the convention world finds meaning in accepting this vison.
Note the vison of the "lighthouse" where birds seeking shelter from the storm attempt to fly toward the light only to slam into the window o More...
Note the vison of the "lighthouse" where birds seeking shelter from the storm attempt to fly toward the light only to slam into the window o More...
May 26, 2011
Hesper
rated it:
Young Edwardians play musical chairs with each other's affections for a hundred more pages than necessary. Part historical document and part psychological exploration, this is a quiet novel, almost obsessed with the interior experiences of its characters.
The first half is more polished than the second, resulting in an unevenly balanced story that meanders toward a not-entirely-satisfactory conclusion, with some pit stops in the realm of dramatic farce along the way. Its strength li More...
The first half is more polished than the second, resulting in an unevenly balanced story that meanders toward a not-entirely-satisfactory conclusion, with some pit stops in the realm of dramatic farce along the way. Its strength li More...
May 12, 2010
There is no denying the fact that Woolf writes beautifully; every line of the novel conjures a vivid image in the mind of the reader. She has a way of portraying emotions and situations to which the reader can directly relate to, and I often found myself grabbing my paper and pen to jot a quote down.
But further than that, I can’t really find anything else that I like about this novel. I found the characters so frustrating with the possible except of Mary. The others, meanwhile, seem More...
But further than that, I can’t really find anything else that I like about this novel. I found the characters so frustrating with the possible except of Mary. The others, meanwhile, seem More...
Aug 21, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Seriously underrated. This book is totally amazing; I don't think it should be classed as a minor Woolf novel at all. It's true that the really astonishing stuff mostly kicks in in the second half, but you need the contrast provided by the relatively prosaic first half to make it work; and it's true that there are a couple of weird narrative glitches that suggest inadequate editing (roses growing in England at Christmas, and that Katherine knows nothing about Ralph's family after a long scene wh
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May 01, 2011
Ms.
rated it:
I speed-read about 1/3 of the pages and it still took, seemingly, forever to read Night and Day. This is understandable, though, given how huge this book is. Themes ranged all over the freaking place: women's (and men's) needs for self actualization in place, work, mind, body; the blurred miasma of misunderstanding which really often occurs when we think we are communicating precisely with words; the inconstancy of our perceptions and emotions... I don't know enough about when it was writt
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Jan 03, 2011
Susan
rated it:
I loved this. I found it in Arty Bees when I was looking for The Waves. I didn't know she had written anything so conventional (in terms of narrative). Her exploration of what might constitute an equal partnership outside of a marriage contract is fascinating: you get a sense of the mental stretching involved, and it made me very glad not to have to deal with the same social conventions that women did in those days. I also admired her commitment to her characters. You can tell she didn't think o
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Dec 16, 2011
Jaclyn
rated it:
I'm not afraid of Virginia Woolf, but I am sad to say that despite my best efforts to love her work, I just don't. It's not bad, it's just not doing all that much for me. The first Virginia Woolf I read was The Voyage Out, which I did rather like. That was one of her pre-quintessential Virginia Woolf style novels. Then I tried To The Lighthouse and appreciated the different writing style but just couldn't get into it. So I thought I'd go back to the "pre-Virginia Woolf" Virignia W
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Dec 05, 2011
Kristin
rated it:
This book is a more sociopolitical and also existential version of a Jane Austen novel - a comedy of manners on the surface that in fact explores deeper issues about human relationships and existence. Things are changing during this period in English history, and the old and the new are seen in direct conflict not just between separate individuals but also within singular individuals themselves. Katharine Hilbery is among the latter. She's practical and cynical, but also dreamy and bored and hop
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Oct 25, 2011
Aisha
rated it:
I loved this literature classic. I was firstly compelled to read 'Night and Day' because of my interest for writing feminists, and although being disappointed by Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway' I thought 'Night and Day' sounded more inviting, and I was not mistaken.
The narrative follows quite a likeable Katherine Hilbery as she discovers love and truth. I loved her character because she could be likened to me, (and all readers' ought to be able to liken themselves to the protagonist i More...
The narrative follows quite a likeable Katherine Hilbery as she discovers love and truth. I loved her character because she could be likened to me, (and all readers' ought to be able to liken themselves to the protagonist i More...
Dec 04, 2010
Mary-Beth
rated it:
Not my favourite of Woolf's novels. I was surprised that it was a love story and that it was about young people. I didn't mind any of the characters, but they didn't all feel real to me. That's unusual for Woolf. Usually her characters feel more real and flawed than many in books. These definitely had flaws, but they weren't always realistic somehow. I found Katherine the strangest of all and the way she voluptuously fell in love at the end to be a bit disappointing almost. Anyway, I still enjoy
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Jan 30, 2012
Jessica
rated it:
okay so first of all, i kindle-read this book, & while i don't normally feel that's worth mentioning i think it had impact this time - who knew this book's like 500 pages long? not i! (until i added on goodreads; the edition i added actually comes out to six hundred something.)
anyway i feel that, had i known it was so long, i'd be saying right now, "man, this book is way too long!" because for what it offers --- basically, a really awesome & vaguely autobiographical jane a More...
anyway i feel that, had i known it was so long, i'd be saying right now, "man, this book is way too long!" because for what it offers --- basically, a really awesome & vaguely autobiographical jane a More...
Jul 07, 2010
Monique
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 10, 2011
Asa
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Jan 17, 2011
Lizzie
rated it:
Read on DailyLit in 197 parts, over 9 months or so because some days I just had to repeatedly click here to receive the next installment immediately. I didn't think it would pick up at first, but then they were all in the country at Christmas and I got all excited.
I'd never read Virginia Woolf before, though I bought To the Lighthouse once and even read the start of Mrs. Dalloway. I even liked it. This book, though, is real early Virginia Woolf which means it is disguised as a reg More...
I'd never read Virginia Woolf before, though I bought To the Lighthouse once and even read the start of Mrs. Dalloway. I even liked it. This book, though, is real early Virginia Woolf which means it is disguised as a reg More...
Jul 25, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
Night and Day is so different from the other Woolf novels I've read and love that it's hard to say what is distinctive about the novel other than that difference. What has been on my mind about it, though, has been that (having recently read and found this out in the Hermione Lee bio) the criticism surrounding the novel, both contemporary and later, seems to focus on the Edwardian-ness of the novel--and I couldn't disagree more. Maybe because I haven't read enough Edwardian novels. But I would s
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Jan 04, 2008
Evan
rated it:
One could easily say that if Woolf had written no more books after VO and Night and Day that she would not have the stature she currently enjoys. That admitted, reading Night and Day is a little like looking at paintings from Picasso's brief period of figural realism. As in VO, Woolf's eye to dissecting the moments of human equivocation is already stunning here, and there are flashes of the poetic sensibility that suddenly appears "fully formed" in her next novel, Jacob's Room. Moon
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Aug 09, 2007
Melissa
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I just feel so strongly that this novel is highly underated. I am a huge, HUGE Virginia Woolf fan and I love her later work but I hold a special place for this novel. Straight forward and less cutting edge than her more popular works but still beautifully crafted. Night and Day explores the inner workings of 4 characters as they try to understand the nature of their relations to others and the clash between the desires of the inner mind and the desire to fit in and do right.
At first More...
At first More...
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Nov 02, 2009
Patricia
rated it:
woolf's freshman effort was much more in keeping with her more mature style than her sophomoric release, _night and day_. i found _night and day_ in keeping with what may have been perceived as chick lit circa 1919.
the book was capricious, tedious, and if it were not for those flashing instances where virginia woolf's prose superceded the superficial dynamics of post-victorian era relations between men and women, it would have been impossible to finish.
the book was capricious, tedious, and if it were not for those flashing instances where virginia woolf's prose superceded the superficial dynamics of post-victorian era relations between men and women, it would have been impossible to finish.
Feb 19, 2010
Catherine
rated it:
I would LOVE it if anyone in my network would read this so we can talk about it together and say "isn't it STRANGE?!" It's like an early picasso--normal on the surface, but on the verge of going completely cubist. The more it seems like something by Edith Wharton or Henry James, the more dissonant it is to come to some utterly V. Woolf scenes. It may not be technically a very good book, though. I can see why it's not widely read.
Feb 01, 2010
Krysta
rated it:
Night and Day was an incredibly detailed study of four people - Mary, Katherine, Ralph and Rodney - as they negotiate their feelings for each other, their family and the world around them during pre-WWI England. Not at all surprising, the writing is stunningly impressive. Woolf expressed the minutest of feelings as vividly as setting and imagery, to the point where individual reflection felt like settings in and of themselves at times. And of course, the main characters fell into and out of love
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Apr 07, 2010
Judy
rated it:
Listened to it on CD, downloaded for free from Books Should Be Free http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/.
The experience of reading/hearing it is like inhabiting each person, so much do you feel their thoughts. That's both amazing and a little scary.
Some parts are so luminous it makes your jaw drop. Others are so obscure you don't have a clue what she is saying.
Mrs. Hillbury turns out to be, not the ditz she appears for much of the book, but the whole woman/savior.
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The experience of reading/hearing it is like inhabiting each person, so much do you feel their thoughts. That's both amazing and a little scary.
Some parts are so luminous it makes your jaw drop. Others are so obscure you don't have a clue what she is saying.
Mrs. Hillbury turns out to be, not the ditz she appears for much of the book, but the whole woman/savior.
More...
