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16th out of 50 books
—
13 voters
The Lady in the Looking Glass
This book includes: "The Lady in the Looking Glass", "A Society", "The Mark on the Wall", "Solid Objects" and "Lappin and Lapinova".
Paperback, 75 pages
Published
2011
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 1960)
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Sep 13, 2012
Bethan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
short-stories-novellas,
regular-fiction
I see V. Woolf as the most domestic novelist I know of, along with ethereal and cerebral. Prone to flights of fancy and delicately intensely lyrical prose, being immersed in the beats of her wings and the great love and compassion she seems to have for everyday life and people as it is for her social milieu can be captivating. If it is not very solid or deep, or sometimes off-putting, it compensates with a connection she seems to have with the rivulets of life and occasional glimpses of an other...more
Like so many books of short stories, even this collection of five stories from the unassailable Virginia Woolf, is something of a flea market.
Ranging from the absolute sublimity of the collection's eponymous story, through to the stolid indifference of "Solid Objects" and the rambling inanity of "The Mark on the Wall", this collection leaves no doubt of the genius of her writing, but suggests Woolf made short shrift of the importance of story-telling.
The difficulty with Woolf is much the same...more
Ranging from the absolute sublimity of the collection's eponymous story, through to the stolid indifference of "Solid Objects" and the rambling inanity of "The Mark on the Wall", this collection leaves no doubt of the genius of her writing, but suggests Woolf made short shrift of the importance of story-telling.
The difficulty with Woolf is much the same...more
For a list of the full 50 titles in this series visit my blog
After reviewing the first in this 50 book mini series, I managed to hunt down the penultimate book and found it equally as fascinating.
Virginia Woolf is one of those authors who is known for her excruciatingly deep prose; accounts that are drawn deeply from the well of life. She is better known for 'Mrs. Dalloway', 'Orlando' and 'The Waves', but in this collection of 5 short stories we are reminded that her fiction is not necessarily a...more
After reviewing the first in this 50 book mini series, I managed to hunt down the penultimate book and found it equally as fascinating.
Virginia Woolf is one of those authors who is known for her excruciatingly deep prose; accounts that are drawn deeply from the well of life. She is better known for 'Mrs. Dalloway', 'Orlando' and 'The Waves', but in this collection of 5 short stories we are reminded that her fiction is not necessarily a...more
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This is a tiny collectionof five short stories and it was fun to read them, but I didn't like the first three stories - "The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection", "A Society" and "The Mark on the Wall" - so much. Even if they occupy just a few pages, it took me quite a while to finish both stories. But the next parts of the book went by so quickly. I loved to read about the lonesome collector in "Solid Objects" and I also liked the sad story about the marriage of "Lappin and Lapinova" very m...more
Mar 30, 2011
Andreea
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anybody who hasn't read Virginia Woolf yet
So lovely! The Penguin people compared books from this series to a bag of chips in their vlog/making of video because you can't stop yourself from reading them in one go, but Virginia Woolf's book is a lot more like some kind of rich tea biscuit. Elegant and so soft and creamy it just melts in your mouth (or your mug), but at the same time very homely. At the same time I love the way this tiny book showcases the whole extent of Virginia Woolf's talent - there are both poetic, stream of conscious...more
I have, over the years read a lot of books by Virginia Woolf. My favorite is still 'Orlando' her love letter to Vita.
This small book is a very different work to that, as it is set mainly within the realms of her reality at the time.
The first story is of someone looking at a friend or is it their own reflection (as my mother suggested) through the window of a looking glass, the description of this view is so perfect, all appears so still like some sort of parallel universe really, the genius of...more
This small book is a very different work to that, as it is set mainly within the realms of her reality at the time.
The first story is of someone looking at a friend or is it their own reflection (as my mother suggested) through the window of a looking glass, the description of this view is so perfect, all appears so still like some sort of parallel universe really, the genius of...more
1 like · like · see review
Virginia Woolf is a genius, what else can I say? I didn't rate it with 5 stars just because I found difficult to understand the "The Mark on the Wall" story. Besides that, every story is a masterpiece, specially "The Lady in the Looking Glass" and "Lappin and Lapinova". Emotional and metaphoric pieces of art.
Some marvelous quotes:
"It was a strange contrast --all changing here, all stillness here."
"We agreed that it was the object of life to produce good people and good books."
"But how long that...more
Some marvelous quotes:
"It was a strange contrast --all changing here, all stillness here."
"We agreed that it was the object of life to produce good people and good books."
"But how long that...more
I bought this book because I saw it in a bookshop while I was reading 'Mrs. Dalloway', and I wanted to see more of Virginia Woolf's writing, curious about her other styles of writing.
I loved the story 'Through the Looking Glass'. 'Lapin and Lapinova' made me reflect upon marriage. 'A Society' is a sarcastic look at the beliefs about the intellect of the genders.
I certainly didn't understand the point of 'A Solid Object'.
Again, Virginia Woolf's books are not for mindless distraction.
I loved the story 'Through the Looking Glass'. 'Lapin and Lapinova' made me reflect upon marriage. 'A Society' is a sarcastic look at the beliefs about the intellect of the genders.
I certainly didn't understand the point of 'A Solid Object'.
Again, Virginia Woolf's books are not for mindless distraction.
The five stories in this collection give a pretty complete look at Virginia Woolf. One I liked in particular was ten pages of writing about a dark spot on the wall, the nature of which she speculates about with a stream of images. I find Woolf at her best when writing that sort of stream of consciousness description, while on the other hand her narratives often become confused by the same wandering prose. If all the stories were as cohesive as the former, I would have given the book a higher rat...more
One of the most complex short stories I've ever read: It combines meaningful elements with powerful human emotiions. It's Worth Reading!
Feb 28, 2012
Julie Rylie
marked it as to-read
First book in german "Die Dame im Spiegel"... SOON!
آدمها نبايد در اتاقهايشان آينه آويزان كنند. همانطور كه نبايد دفترچههاي حساب پسانداز يا نامههايي را پيش چشم ديگران بگذارند كه جنايتي پنهان را افشا ميكنند. در آن بعدازظهر تابستان، نميتوانستي در آينهي قدي كه بر ديوار تالار آويخته بود نگاه نكني. همه چيز از سر تصادف بود. نه تنها ميتوانستي از ته كاناپهي اتاق پذيرايي، ميز مرمر مقابل را در آينهي ايتاليايي ببيني، وراي آن امتداد باغ را نيز ميديدي. تا جايي كه حاشيهي طلايي آينه زاويهاي ميساخت و تصوير را قطع ميكرد كوچه باغ سرسبزي را ميديدي...more
I love everything around Virginia
A pessimistic and pretentious collection of short stories which seem affected and insincere. I usually enjoy Woolf, but I had to force my way through these ramblings. Out of 5 I should only recommend 'A Society' and 'Lapin and Lappinova'.
چیزی که تو این کتاب برام جالب بود
چهارتا داستانی بود که هرکدوم تو یه قسمتی از مهمانی خانم دالاوی اتفاق میافتادن
چهارتا داستانی بود که هرکدوم تو یه قسمتی از مهمانی خانم دالاوی اتفاق میافتادن
هر کاری کردم نتونستم باهاش ارتباط برقرار کنم اولین کتابیه که وسطاش ولش میکنم
"سوزن ته گرد های خانم اسلیتر نوک ندارند!"
Jun 02, 2013
Claudia
marked it as to-read
May 27, 2013
Azella Fernández Castañón
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May 16, 2013
Synne
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Maritrou
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May 02, 2013
Esther
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May 02, 2013
Diane
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(Adeline) Virginia Woolf was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century.
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length es...more
More about Virginia Woolf...
During the interwar period, Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length es...more
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