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Virginia Woolf in Manhattan
"Hang on to your hats, it's a joy" Jane Gardam, author of Old Filth
Virginia Woolf, restored to life in contemporary Manhattan, is amazed at modern attitudes to freedom, love, sex, bookselling and literature
"I have been dragged through time, summoned like a book requisitioned from a distant library,"" says Virginia Woolf, “resurrected” by modern-day author, Angela Lamb, working on Woolf manuscripts in the New York Public Library’s Berg collection.
Angela dumps her irrepressible daughter at boarding-school to pursue her writing, so, when a bedraggled Virginia materialises among the bookshelves and is promptly evicted, Angela rushes to her rescue, chaperoning her wayward heroine.
Virginia drinks in the Algonquin, finds friends’ paintings in the Met, and scams bookstores by selling pristine first editions of her novels, inscribed. Visits to independent booksellers make up for her disappointment in finding iconic bookstores closed.
Virginia flies with Angela to a conference in Istanbul, makes friends, finds new lovers, and steals the show at international meeting on – Virginia Woolf.
The novel asks what Virginia would make of contemporary literature, the book trade, love, sex and digital addictions? Are we free-er than in Woolf’s day? By showing Woolf’s joy in seizing life, Gee challenges the cliché that great female artists are self-destructive, and engagingly shows Woolf’s ideas on equality, feminism and bisexuality are as vibrant and important as ever.
A witty, profound novel about the miraculous possibilities of second chances.
Virginia Woolf, restored to life in contemporary Manhattan, is amazed at modern attitudes to freedom, love, sex, bookselling and literature
"I have been dragged through time, summoned like a book requisitioned from a distant library,"" says Virginia Woolf, “resurrected” by modern-day author, Angela Lamb, working on Woolf manuscripts in the New York Public Library’s Berg collection.
Angela dumps her irrepressible daughter at boarding-school to pursue her writing, so, when a bedraggled Virginia materialises among the bookshelves and is promptly evicted, Angela rushes to her rescue, chaperoning her wayward heroine.
Virginia drinks in the Algonquin, finds friends’ paintings in the Met, and scams bookstores by selling pristine first editions of her novels, inscribed. Visits to independent booksellers make up for her disappointment in finding iconic bookstores closed.
Virginia flies with Angela to a conference in Istanbul, makes friends, finds new lovers, and steals the show at international meeting on – Virginia Woolf.
The novel asks what Virginia would make of contemporary literature, the book trade, love, sex and digital addictions? Are we free-er than in Woolf’s day? By showing Woolf’s joy in seizing life, Gee challenges the cliché that great female artists are self-destructive, and engagingly shows Woolf’s ideas on equality, feminism and bisexuality are as vibrant and important as ever.
A witty, profound novel about the miraculous possibilities of second chances.
477 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2014
13 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Gee
39 books53 followersMaggie Gee is an English novelist. She was born in Poole, Dorset, then moved to the Midlands and later to Sussex. She was educated at state schools and at Oxford University (MA, B Litt). She later worked in publishing and then had a research post at Wolverhampton Polytechnic where she completed the department's first PhD. She has written eleven novels and a collection of short stories, and was the first female Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, 2004-2008. She is now one of the Vice-Presidents of the RSL and Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Sheffield Hallam University. She has also served on the Society of Authors' management committee and the government's Public Lending Right committee. Her seventh novel, The White Family, was shortlisted for the 2003 Orange Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
She writes in a broadly modernist tradition, in that her books have a strong overall sense of pattern and meaning, but her writing is characterised by political and social awareness. She turns a satirical eye on contemporary society but is affectionate towards her characters and has an unironised sense of the beauty of the natural world. Her human beings are biological as well as social creatures, partly because of the influence of science and in particular evolutionary biology on her thinking. Where are The Snows, The Ice People and The Flood have all dealt with the near or distant future. She writes through male characters as often as she does through female characters.
The individual human concerns that her stories address include the difficulties of resolving the conflict between total unselfishness, which often leads to secret unhappiness and resentment against the beneficiaries, and selfishness, which can lead to the unhappiness of others, particularly of children. This is a typical quandary of late-20th and early-21st-century women, but it is also a concern for privileged, wealthy, long-lived western human beings as a whole, and widens into global concerns about wealth and poverty and climate change. Her books also explore how the human species relates to non-human animals and to the natural world as a whole. Two of her books, The White Family and My Cleaner, have had racism as a central theme, dealt with as a tragedy in The White Family but as a comedy in My Cleaner. She is currently writing a memoir called My Animal Life. In 2009 she published "My Driver", a second novel with many of the same characters as My Cleaner, but this time set in Uganda during a time of tension with neighbouring DRC Congo.
Maggie Gee lives in London with her husband, the writer and broadcaster Nicholas Rankin, an author, and their daughter Rosa.
She writes in a broadly modernist tradition, in that her books have a strong overall sense of pattern and meaning, but her writing is characterised by political and social awareness. She turns a satirical eye on contemporary society but is affectionate towards her characters and has an unironised sense of the beauty of the natural world. Her human beings are biological as well as social creatures, partly because of the influence of science and in particular evolutionary biology on her thinking. Where are The Snows, The Ice People and The Flood have all dealt with the near or distant future. She writes through male characters as often as she does through female characters.
The individual human concerns that her stories address include the difficulties of resolving the conflict between total unselfishness, which often leads to secret unhappiness and resentment against the beneficiaries, and selfishness, which can lead to the unhappiness of others, particularly of children. This is a typical quandary of late-20th and early-21st-century women, but it is also a concern for privileged, wealthy, long-lived western human beings as a whole, and widens into global concerns about wealth and poverty and climate change. Her books also explore how the human species relates to non-human animals and to the natural world as a whole. Two of her books, The White Family and My Cleaner, have had racism as a central theme, dealt with as a tragedy in The White Family but as a comedy in My Cleaner. She is currently writing a memoir called My Animal Life. In 2009 she published "My Driver", a second novel with many of the same characters as My Cleaner, but this time set in Uganda during a time of tension with neighbouring DRC Congo.
Maggie Gee lives in London with her husband, the writer and broadcaster Nicholas Rankin, an author, and their daughter Rosa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 2, 2022
2.75 stars
What to make of this. The premise is simple: novelist Angela Lamb is preparing to deliver a paper on Woolf at a conference in Istanbul by doing some reading in the Berg collection at New York Public Library. As she is thinking about Woolf, the woman herself appears somewhat damp and disoriented in the library. She is promptly ejected and Angela rescues her and shows her round New York (obviously resurrected novelists being an everyday occurrence). It’s a straightforward idea, two novelists, past and present interacting. Woolf learning about the modern world, internet (looking herself up), modern food, shopping and bickering with Lamb. The action moves from New York to Istanbul to the Woolf conference. The idea of Woolf attending a Woolf conference is quite interesting. There is a sub plot. Lamb’s daughter Gerda (rather neglected) is at a private school. She is 14 and being bullied and her mother isn’t in contact very often. Gerda (and yes we are in Anderson’s Snow Queen territory) decides to track down her mother and manages to get to New York just after her mother and Woolf have left for Istanbul. She has some adventures with a gang of street kids and then manages to get to the conference in Istanbul. There’s a bit of magic realism and the ending is open. Woolf, in Istanbul ends up in bed with a footman and possibly a chambermaid (possibly at the same time).
This is a mixed bag. Lamb is not very likeable as a character and how on earth do you make Woolf coping with modern life believable. However there is some humour and playfulness. There are some Woolf references; the lighthouse is replaced by the Aja Sophia and there’s plenty of Orlando dotted about.
There is a paucity of discussion about Woolf’s works, and this is quite a conversational book. As the Guardian reviewer put it (and she didn’t like this), “It’s like bringing Abe Lincoln back to talk about beards”!
I did find myself asking the question “Why?” on several occasions. It’s a bit muddled in some ways, but it is an homage. I didn’t hate it, but there are lots of missed opportunities mixed in with some sharp and funny moments along with a passionate plea (based on A Room of One’s Own) for creative female writing.
What to make of this. The premise is simple: novelist Angela Lamb is preparing to deliver a paper on Woolf at a conference in Istanbul by doing some reading in the Berg collection at New York Public Library. As she is thinking about Woolf, the woman herself appears somewhat damp and disoriented in the library. She is promptly ejected and Angela rescues her and shows her round New York (obviously resurrected novelists being an everyday occurrence). It’s a straightforward idea, two novelists, past and present interacting. Woolf learning about the modern world, internet (looking herself up), modern food, shopping and bickering with Lamb. The action moves from New York to Istanbul to the Woolf conference. The idea of Woolf attending a Woolf conference is quite interesting. There is a sub plot. Lamb’s daughter Gerda (rather neglected) is at a private school. She is 14 and being bullied and her mother isn’t in contact very often. Gerda (and yes we are in Anderson’s Snow Queen territory) decides to track down her mother and manages to get to New York just after her mother and Woolf have left for Istanbul. She has some adventures with a gang of street kids and then manages to get to the conference in Istanbul. There’s a bit of magic realism and the ending is open. Woolf, in Istanbul ends up in bed with a footman and possibly a chambermaid (possibly at the same time).
This is a mixed bag. Lamb is not very likeable as a character and how on earth do you make Woolf coping with modern life believable. However there is some humour and playfulness. There are some Woolf references; the lighthouse is replaced by the Aja Sophia and there’s plenty of Orlando dotted about.
There is a paucity of discussion about Woolf’s works, and this is quite a conversational book. As the Guardian reviewer put it (and she didn’t like this), “It’s like bringing Abe Lincoln back to talk about beards”!
I did find myself asking the question “Why?” on several occasions. It’s a bit muddled in some ways, but it is an homage. I didn’t hate it, but there are lots of missed opportunities mixed in with some sharp and funny moments along with a passionate plea (based on A Room of One’s Own) for creative female writing.
February 13, 2015
Not historical fiction, but whimsical magic realism. Angela Lamb, a middle-aged English novelist, is flying to NYC to view Woolf’s manuscripts at the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. She hopes to finish preparing for an upcoming Woolf conference in Istanbul – and to take her mind off her shaky marriage to a documentary filmmaker on location in the Arctic. The first line presages magic to come: “There is thunder as Angela flies to New York with Virginia Woolf in her handbag, lightning crackling off the wings of the plane.”
Lightning and turbulence throw things awry in the cosmos, and Virginia herself comes back into consciousness: “It seems I was not forgotten. Someone longed for me, here in New York where I never went – someone hungered, and hauled me back up.” Virginia Woolf in Manhattan alternates between Virginia’s and Angela’s perspectives, set out almost like a play.
Angela is astonished to bump into her literary heroine in the Big Apple. By a stroke of good luck, Virginia has two of her first editions in her pockets; these raise $90,000 to fund her second life. Virginia, like the resurrected Hitler in Look Who’s Back, is fascinated by the Internet. She loves shopping, conversing, and wine. When Angela leaves for Turkey, Virginia accompanies her to the conference. Constantinople, the location of Orlando’s sex change, will also be the site of the famously frigid Virginia’s sensual reawakening.
This academic comedy, reminiscent of David Lodge’s Small World, toys with history, globalization, and literary theories about “The Death of the Author.” A subplot about Angela’s daughter, Gerda, who flees boarding school bullies by getting on a plane to New York, is a distraction that makes the book overlong. However, it is a delight to see Virginia as a comic figure rather than an emblem of suicide and madness.
(Included, along with Vanessa and Her Sister, in my BookTrib article on recent novels about Virginia Woolf.)
Lightning and turbulence throw things awry in the cosmos, and Virginia herself comes back into consciousness: “It seems I was not forgotten. Someone longed for me, here in New York where I never went – someone hungered, and hauled me back up.” Virginia Woolf in Manhattan alternates between Virginia’s and Angela’s perspectives, set out almost like a play.
Angela is astonished to bump into her literary heroine in the Big Apple. By a stroke of good luck, Virginia has two of her first editions in her pockets; these raise $90,000 to fund her second life. Virginia, like the resurrected Hitler in Look Who’s Back, is fascinated by the Internet. She loves shopping, conversing, and wine. When Angela leaves for Turkey, Virginia accompanies her to the conference. Constantinople, the location of Orlando’s sex change, will also be the site of the famously frigid Virginia’s sensual reawakening.
This academic comedy, reminiscent of David Lodge’s Small World, toys with history, globalization, and literary theories about “The Death of the Author.” A subplot about Angela’s daughter, Gerda, who flees boarding school bullies by getting on a plane to New York, is a distraction that makes the book overlong. However, it is a delight to see Virginia as a comic figure rather than an emblem of suicide and madness.
(Included, along with Vanessa and Her Sister, in my BookTrib article on recent novels about Virginia Woolf.)
October 10, 2016
The idea of the 20th century’s greatest female literary icon suddenly coming to life in modern-day New York is a delightful one, so I started reading Virginia Woolf in Manhattan with great enthusiasm.
But by page 90 of this overly-long novel, I realised I just didn't care any more. Virginia Woolf in Manhattan manages the tricky feat of being simultaneously both trite and turgid.
Maggie Gee handles the celebrated author's reactions to our world clumsily. And her even clumsier attempts to describe her idol’s appearance grated — her eyes “blinking out from caves of bone”, “pale lizard fingers” and her body:
“… like a great mayfly, long neck poking forward. Straggling limbs, her knees jutting out. Then two long feet like heavy boats that might float away from her altogether.”
I hate to say it, but Maggie Gee is no Virginia Woolf.
July 21, 2017
Championed by bestselling authors such as Jacqueline Wilson and Patrick Ness, Maggie Gee’s Virginia Woolf in Manhattan was first published in 2014, to great acclaim. The Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, for instance, term it ‘a remarkable feat’ and ‘an exhilarating novel’.
The premise which Gee has focused upon is most inventive: ‘What if Virginia Woolf came back to life in the twenty-first century?’ Rather than simply muse upon this idea, Gee has fashioned quite an original story around it. A mid-life crisis has befallen her protagonist, bestselling author Angela Lamb. After her ‘irrepressible’ daughter Gerda has been left at her boarding school, Angela decides to take an impromptu flight to New York in order to ‘pursue her passion for Woolf, whose manuscripts are held in a private collection’. The following twist ensues: ‘When a bedraggled Virginia Woolf materialises among the bookshelves and is promptly evicted, Angela, stunned, rushes after her on to the streets of Manhattan.’ She soon becomes the chaperone of the novel’s ‘troublesome heroine’, as she tries to adjust to life in the modern – and rather bewildering – world.
The novel begins in an engaging manner, the tone, strong prose and wit of which is sustained throughout: ‘There is thunder as Angela flies to New York with Virginia Woolf in her handbag, lightning crackling off the wings of the plane’. In Virginia Woolf in Manhattan, Gee writes intelligently. It is clear to see that she is very practiced at her craft, and is comfortable with being playful in both her choices of vocabulary and turns of phrase.
The whole of Virginia Woolf in Manhattan has a marvellously contemporary feel to it; there are no constraints in terms of the text existing in strict, conformist paragraphs. I was reminded of Ali Smith at times, with regard to the thought which had clearly been given to the visualisation of the text. The narrative, too, has been well-handled. Portions are told from the imagined voices of both Woolf and Angela, and these alternate with the omniscient third person perspective, which gives a wonderful overview. Virginia Woolf in Manhattan is facetious, creative, and brimming with a plethora of thought-provoking scenes. It is the first of Gee’s books which I have read, but I can safely say that it certainly will not be the last.
The premise which Gee has focused upon is most inventive: ‘What if Virginia Woolf came back to life in the twenty-first century?’ Rather than simply muse upon this idea, Gee has fashioned quite an original story around it. A mid-life crisis has befallen her protagonist, bestselling author Angela Lamb. After her ‘irrepressible’ daughter Gerda has been left at her boarding school, Angela decides to take an impromptu flight to New York in order to ‘pursue her passion for Woolf, whose manuscripts are held in a private collection’. The following twist ensues: ‘When a bedraggled Virginia Woolf materialises among the bookshelves and is promptly evicted, Angela, stunned, rushes after her on to the streets of Manhattan.’ She soon becomes the chaperone of the novel’s ‘troublesome heroine’, as she tries to adjust to life in the modern – and rather bewildering – world.
The novel begins in an engaging manner, the tone, strong prose and wit of which is sustained throughout: ‘There is thunder as Angela flies to New York with Virginia Woolf in her handbag, lightning crackling off the wings of the plane’. In Virginia Woolf in Manhattan, Gee writes intelligently. It is clear to see that she is very practiced at her craft, and is comfortable with being playful in both her choices of vocabulary and turns of phrase.
The whole of Virginia Woolf in Manhattan has a marvellously contemporary feel to it; there are no constraints in terms of the text existing in strict, conformist paragraphs. I was reminded of Ali Smith at times, with regard to the thought which had clearly been given to the visualisation of the text. The narrative, too, has been well-handled. Portions are told from the imagined voices of both Woolf and Angela, and these alternate with the omniscient third person perspective, which gives a wonderful overview. Virginia Woolf in Manhattan is facetious, creative, and brimming with a plethora of thought-provoking scenes. It is the first of Gee’s books which I have read, but I can safely say that it certainly will not be the last.
August 3, 2014
Since the superlatives used to describe novels have become a little meaningless, I'm going to try not to gush, even though I want to. This is a VERY good novel. It has affected me both as a reader and as a writer. It is about life and love from the perspective of someone who has known both life and death, packaged into a story that sweeps you away. It has everything; characters you want to stay with and listen to and understand, big ideas and closely observed detail; it is thoughtful and thought-provoking and heartbreaking and joyful. It is the best thing I've read in a long time. Five stars aren't really enough for Maggie Gee.
September 22, 2017
I really enjoyed this novel, even if the plot sounds a bit 'barmy' at first. Gee's "Virginia" is a lovely creature, obviously quite a character, rather endearing, and always depicted lovingly and respectfully. Additionally the story is very funny, tongue-in-cheek, pretty clever and rather moving at times.
Give yourself a go, you might well like it – even if you consider yourself a serious lover of Woolf's writing, perhaps even more so.
Give yourself a go, you might well like it – even if you consider yourself a serious lover of Woolf's writing, perhaps even more so.
October 21, 2019
I was so looking forward to reading this, and I was so disappointed by it.
Subjective perspective aside, this is the first book I’ve read in a long time where I really cannot comprehend why people might award it 5*.
Angela Lamb is selfish, boring and hypocritical. She is also, in her eyes, always the victim; oh no, Angela never contributes to her own misery.
Gerda and her no-bullshit attitude towards her mother’s negligence and scorn of the pomp attributed to some academics was the saving grace for me. It’s incredibly difficult to craft a teenage character who embodies teenage naivety and emotion without ending up with an OTT brat.
Unfortunately this was also sullied when Gee throws in a really odd, displaced and irrelevant ragamuffins-in-New-York-sub-plot with Gerda that was so simultaneously baffling and infuriating.
THEY SPENT TEN CHAPTERS ON A PLANE. Like, not even doing anything, just thinking.
The housemate asked why I didn’t give it up. I told her I couldn’t bear the thought of dedicating so much time to such a big book (800+ pages) and as a fellow Literature student she commended me and wished me luck. I wish I’d followed her advice (and she dispenses questionable advice).
She came running in the day I finished the book and groaned and I had to tell her I wasted 700+ pages to finish up with Virginia Woolf getting . We both mourned.
This was not a novel of romantic reasoning: what would Virginia Woolf make of our society? It was a badly executed romantic idea and would have possibly found redemption in being A LOT shorter.
Gee tries to mimic Woolf’s trademark stylistic discourse a la Mrs Dalloway and instead has produced drabble the length of Joyce's Ulysses.
Subjective perspective aside, this is the first book I’ve read in a long time where I really cannot comprehend why people might award it 5*.
Angela Lamb is selfish, boring and hypocritical. She is also, in her eyes, always the victim; oh no, Angela never contributes to her own misery.
Gerda and her no-bullshit attitude towards her mother’s negligence and scorn of the pomp attributed to some academics was the saving grace for me. It’s incredibly difficult to craft a teenage character who embodies teenage naivety and emotion without ending up with an OTT brat.
Unfortunately this was also sullied when Gee throws in a really odd, displaced and irrelevant ragamuffins-in-New-York-sub-plot with Gerda that was so simultaneously baffling and infuriating.
THEY SPENT TEN CHAPTERS ON A PLANE. Like, not even doing anything, just thinking.
The housemate asked why I didn’t give it up. I told her I couldn’t bear the thought of dedicating so much time to such a big book (800+ pages) and as a fellow Literature student she commended me and wished me luck. I wish I’d followed her advice (and she dispenses questionable advice).
She came running in the day I finished the book and groaned and I had to tell her I wasted 700+ pages to finish up with Virginia Woolf getting . We both mourned.
This was not a novel of romantic reasoning: what would Virginia Woolf make of our society? It was a badly executed romantic idea and would have possibly found redemption in being A LOT shorter.
Gee tries to mimic Woolf’s trademark stylistic discourse a la Mrs Dalloway and instead has produced drabble the length of Joyce's Ulysses.
June 16, 2015
This is going on my TBR list for the sake of a brilliant first line.
VIRGINIA
Suddenly there's time again; and I'm in it.
... And my Mum sent it to me for Christmas! :-)
♦
I still love the line I quote above. But while this was interesting, it made for a sometimes tiresome read. The two modern-day main characters are an odd mix of sympathetic and unlikeable. Virginia is rather wonderfully drawn, and very likeable indeed - but then one can also empathise with Angela's frustration and annoyance at trying to acclimate this unexpected incarnation to the modern world.
The whole climactic ending was wonderful, but it was at times a rather long haul to get there. For those of you who hate head-hopping, please be advised to avoid this book! I don't mind a bit, and it's all clear, but omg it makes the effort to keep up just plain tiring.
Mmm... There's no denying I did so love this Virginia. And there was a cool walk-on role for a Mongolian man. The four stars are earned, but I can't think I'll be revisiting any time soon.
VIRGINIA
Suddenly there's time again; and I'm in it.
... And my Mum sent it to me for Christmas! :-)
♦
I still love the line I quote above. But while this was interesting, it made for a sometimes tiresome read. The two modern-day main characters are an odd mix of sympathetic and unlikeable. Virginia is rather wonderfully drawn, and very likeable indeed - but then one can also empathise with Angela's frustration and annoyance at trying to acclimate this unexpected incarnation to the modern world.
The whole climactic ending was wonderful, but it was at times a rather long haul to get there. For those of you who hate head-hopping, please be advised to avoid this book! I don't mind a bit, and it's all clear, but omg it makes the effort to keep up just plain tiring.
Mmm... There's no denying I did so love this Virginia. And there was a cool walk-on role for a Mongolian man. The four stars are earned, but I can't think I'll be revisiting any time soon.
June 16, 2019
Having read several fictional novels about literary giants, I read 'Virginia Woolf in Manhattan' with some trepidation. Who are we to 'literarily' exhume great authors? The beginning chapters and sections explode with clusters of poetic phrasing after Woolf is magically conjured (by Angela? Lightning? It's never explained), bouncing between Angela and Virginia's thoughts and quotes.
After it settles to a through-story, the classic 'fish out of water' theme expands to Woolf's fascination with all things modern, with curt corrections by Angela when Woolf uses antiquated terms for people that today are deemed racist. Woolf and Angela sell a few valuable books that Virginia signs, then head off to Istanbul for a Woolf literary conference.
Angela's daughter Gerda gets in trouble, runs away from her private school and flies to New York to find her mother. Her diary entries and Central Park adventures provide a fun counter to Angela's fussy demeanor while dealing with Woolf's openness to the phenomenon of being resurrected. That the father is 'put on ice' in Antarctica is odd yet appropriate, perhaps, in this women-strong novel.
The Istanbul chapters veer a bit too much toward travelogue, but are relevant and touching when Woolf finds adventure and romance on her return visit after decades. The finale is lightning and literature, hope and hilarity with a surprising burst of empathy.
After it settles to a through-story, the classic 'fish out of water' theme expands to Woolf's fascination with all things modern, with curt corrections by Angela when Woolf uses antiquated terms for people that today are deemed racist. Woolf and Angela sell a few valuable books that Virginia signs, then head off to Istanbul for a Woolf literary conference.
Angela's daughter Gerda gets in trouble, runs away from her private school and flies to New York to find her mother. Her diary entries and Central Park adventures provide a fun counter to Angela's fussy demeanor while dealing with Woolf's openness to the phenomenon of being resurrected. That the father is 'put on ice' in Antarctica is odd yet appropriate, perhaps, in this women-strong novel.
The Istanbul chapters veer a bit too much toward travelogue, but are relevant and touching when Woolf finds adventure and romance on her return visit after decades. The finale is lightning and literature, hope and hilarity with a surprising burst of empathy.
August 19, 2018
Is it wrong that I enjoyed this book more than I did Mrs Dalloway? It's certainly not wrong to have enjoyed it more than the piece of parasitical tripe that is The Hours.
The author seems to know a lot about Virginia Woolf - enough to bring her to vibrant life for me. Enough to make me look forward to reading To The Lighthouse next.
I just woke up from an afternoon nap and so that's all my mind can conjure up at this point. This is a nice, fluent, fluid book - read it.
The author seems to know a lot about Virginia Woolf - enough to bring her to vibrant life for me. Enough to make me look forward to reading To The Lighthouse next.
I just woke up from an afternoon nap and so that's all my mind can conjure up at this point. This is a nice, fluent, fluid book - read it.
September 13, 2019
I give this novel 4.5 stars. It was fascinating to consider Virginia Woolf living in the 21st century. This novel propels you to read Woolf's books again with a keener eye. I don't always enjoy time travel but this one was worth the ride. A wonderfully, imaginative book about Woolf's inner feelings towards her life,her losses, her dedication to writing and as women, a need for a room of our own. The side story on Gerda was a bit over the top and didn't work for me. All said, it is a book worth your time.
September 10, 2019
Quirky idea (you know how I like those), not sure how it was going along, but then suddenly, we're in Istanbul and I like the ending.
September 16, 2019
Virginia Woolf magically appears to a novelist preparing a lecture about her. Quite a lot of good humor, but a bit long.
May 12, 2016
An enchanting premise, but I was disappointed with the overall style of the book. Despite some lovely passages ("He walked like a dancer or a weightlifter, as if every step was slightly sprung, and his pleasure in my company was like a cloak of finest cashmere keeping me warm."), the writing often felt a little clumsy to me, never quite achieving lift-off. Angela Lamb, the main narrator and modern foil to Virginia Woolf, was rather unappealing, without evoking the delight sometimes to be found in unlikeable characters. I wanted it to be lighter, more playful, more subtle and more lively, and less unresolved.
August 15, 2017
This book took me through the journeys Virginia, Angela and Garda take all by themselves. Such visually enriched, sensational surroundings I've been to! Even the places I knew felt different. I didn't look for a literary depth into Virginia Woolf in this novel; but it did made me feel closer to her as a fictitious character from Gee's voice. Very much enjoyed the dual plot and the epistolary communication between Angela and Virginia.
June 11, 2015
I loved this novel: a love letter to Virginia Woolf, and also to Maggie Gee's daughter. Funny, sharp, inventive, light, dark, and very moving too. Sometimes the daughter subplot felt a little weak, but the gorgeous spirit of the novel just carried me along. Just brilliant. Virginia is a hoot. Highly recommend.
April 18, 2018
Such a madcap story. Funny, sad and a great adventure.
June 27, 2018
I had no idea what to expect from this, but I really enjoyed it!
October 6, 2017
I admit, I struggled with this. I clearly expected a bit more than what I got.
First and foremost, the characters accompanying Virginia were infuriating (it seems I would have known that, had I read previous books by the author). Angela could not make her mind about whether she was rich or not - I love a bargain myself, but if I had a chance to bump into Marcel Duchamp, I would buy him as many espressos as he wanted without even thinking about, and I am poor. Furthermore, Angela was just painfully arrogant, a treat that she clearly transmitted genetically to her just as self-absorbed daughter Gerda. My biggest problem with Gerda is however her lack of purpose in the novel. Yes, she conveys some metaphorical messages (alongside underlining Angela's self-love), but she seems unnecessary for about 80% of the book. She also brings this YA vibe to her parts of book - it is not something I expected or craved after taking a break from YA novels, nor was it particularly fascinating in any way.
The story started well. The part in New York was very entertaining. After that though, the pacing went a bit screwy. The chapters set on the plane to Istanbul took me forever to get through as they occupied far too much space for an 11-hour journey.
The final part of the book bugged me a lot also. I could have done perfectly fine without reading the 'steamy' bits, which made me feel uncomfortable following the fairly intellectual sense of the book. The conference the whole story was leading up to was also painful to read. Having a touch of an academic background in the humanities, I saw myself siding with Angela's main critic during the event.
I actually wanted to give this book 4 stars at first, then 2 at the end. I think 3 is a good balance. I loved the way Virginia's parts were written, it was a great imitation. It was in fact beautifully written in general. I loved the level of research and/or knowledge that went into it. Finally, I really loved the ending. I am off to read some more of the real deal now.
First and foremost, the characters accompanying Virginia were infuriating (it seems I would have known that, had I read previous books by the author). Angela could not make her mind about whether she was rich or not - I love a bargain myself, but if I had a chance to bump into Marcel Duchamp, I would buy him as many espressos as he wanted without even thinking about, and I am poor. Furthermore, Angela was just painfully arrogant, a treat that she clearly transmitted genetically to her just as self-absorbed daughter Gerda. My biggest problem with Gerda is however her lack of purpose in the novel. Yes, she conveys some metaphorical messages (alongside underlining Angela's self-love), but she seems unnecessary for about 80% of the book. She also brings this YA vibe to her parts of book - it is not something I expected or craved after taking a break from YA novels, nor was it particularly fascinating in any way.
The story started well. The part in New York was very entertaining. After that though, the pacing went a bit screwy. The chapters set on the plane to Istanbul took me forever to get through as they occupied far too much space for an 11-hour journey.
The final part of the book bugged me a lot also. I could have done perfectly fine without reading the 'steamy' bits, which made me feel uncomfortable following the fairly intellectual sense of the book. The conference the whole story was leading up to was also painful to read. Having a touch of an academic background in the humanities, I saw myself siding with Angela's main critic during the event.
I actually wanted to give this book 4 stars at first, then 2 at the end. I think 3 is a good balance. I loved the way Virginia's parts were written, it was a great imitation. It was in fact beautifully written in general. I loved the level of research and/or knowledge that went into it. Finally, I really loved the ending. I am off to read some more of the real deal now.
September 22, 2019
I really wanted to like this book. I came to goodreads before reading, saw a lot of not-so-good reviews and still decided that it was probably worth it - I mean, the idea behind is so great!! And yet it just didn't work for me.
The book is unneccessarily long, Angela's character is ujst so difficult to get (I mean why ignoring her daughter so much? Given the length of the book I'm sure a better explanation could have fitted somewhere), the ending is just the easiest way out and it just leaves so many questions unanswered
If I had to keep something, that'd be Gerda. Thart girl is well written, evolves as a character and is so interesting, though she doesn't always get the importance I'd say she deserves.
The book is unneccessarily long, Angela's character is ujst so difficult to get (I mean why ignoring her daughter so much? Given the length of the book I'm sure a better explanation could have fitted somewhere), the ending is just the easiest way out and it just leaves so many questions unanswered
If I had to keep something, that'd be Gerda. Thart girl is well written, evolves as a character and is so interesting, though she doesn't always get the importance I'd say she deserves.
June 10, 2019
Sticking to the fat plot thread of Virginia Woolf come back among us in all her introspection, neurosis, brilliance, word magic, and emotional charge made this book a delight and fresh interlude with the great author. The dual plot thread of the protagonist's daughter was a bummer. The title story was only Part One--my delight was in Part Three: Virginia in Istanbul. Here were the riches of place, the unfolding dream story of new, daring loves, the recall of a full-flavored life with stolen pleasures and the wonderful Woolfian dialogue. A surprise for the most part, a let-down in the supporting plots (giving of an academic paper, family drama with protagonist's daughter). Keep it VIrginia, and it's gold.
February 9, 2020
I found the constant back and forth one paragraph Virginia Woolf - one Angela and then Gerde the daughter sort of annoying.I like the authors use of language she can be very descriptive but something did not gel for me. Might have been better as different parts for the main characters- chapters devoted solely to each characters point of view.I was intrigued but somehow bogged down like poor Virginia Woolf and her other century drowning.Intriguing idea something just not right in the execution of it.Did not finish may pick through it again.Also oddly creepy though I am a big Bloomsbury fan.
March 24, 2020
I enjoyed this on the whole but knocked off stars for a boring character in Angela and Gerda's interludes. I thought Angela was undeveloped and mostly unlikeable, especially when it comes to Gerda - is she writing to her at all or is Gerda exaggerating? Speaking of Gerda, her later story in New York was ridiculous and didn't mesh in with the rest of the book at all. However, I liked Virginia, especially towards the end, and I liked the generally fanciful atmosphere of the book, hence 3 stars.
September 28, 2024
I absolutely loved this book! So entertaining, so clever, so well imagined and - as I discovered with the Acknowledgements - based on detailed research.
It felt both postmodern and authentic. It rounded from early twentieth to twenty first century and wandered through comedic episodes (touched of Gloomsbury, but more subtle) to make serious literary points.
I’m going to have to go back to Woolf’s own writing.
Highly highly highly recommended!
It felt both postmodern and authentic. It rounded from early twentieth to twenty first century and wandered through comedic episodes (touched of Gloomsbury, but more subtle) to make serious literary points.
I’m going to have to go back to Woolf’s own writing.
Highly highly highly recommended!
December 15, 2017
I couldn’t get to grips with the plot or the characters and found that some of the storylines weren’t even completed. A nice idea to write (at points) in the style of Virginia Woolf, but for me, it never really took off. It has, however, made me want to read more of Woolf’s work, so surely that must be a good thing?
April 10, 2024
Hilarious! I actually didn't know much about Virginia Woolf before this book, and maybe that's why I enjoyed it. I'm sure this might be inaccurate to what Virginia Woolf was really like, but historical accuracy aside it was an enjoyable funny book. My favourite character was the daughter, I forgot her name but she was cool!
December 3, 2023
Subpar writing, yet the author’s classicism and elitism still found a way to show through. The characters also were… just plain bad. The main character was unbearable with no character arc. She was just as annoying at the end as she was at the start.
March 10, 2024
Read in 2 main bursts - a slow starter but really enjoyed the second half. Basic premise is that Virginia Woolf turns up in modern Manhattan and lives for a short time with the main character. It explores ideas about women, relationships and identity.
January 25, 2026
I was so looking forward to this, but I wish Angela wasn't there. Virginia Woolf also wasn't there, because while recognizable, this interpretation of Woolf missed the mark. And someone please take care of Gerda. also, no idea how this book ended. Sorry, Virginia.
January 7, 2019
There's much to admire in this, not least the characterisations of the three female narrators, all wonderfully-drawn. If I didn't love it, that's more to do with my tastes than the book.
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