To The Lighthouse

[Kelly_Hunsaker_reads]

4 stars

Earlier this year I read A Room of One's Own which was so unbelievably good that I was blown away. I was shocked by Ms Woolf's smart and intuitive view of the roles of gender. She took problems that I have seen in American society over the last 50 years, and explored the causes and the solutions. She was opining on the problems for women who lived a century and a half ago -- and yet it felt completely modern. That book could have been written in 2017. I will recommend it to every woman I meet for the rest of my life.

So I was very excited to read more of her writings. I purchased this one and Mrs Dalloway. I think this book is probably a five star read -- but it is NOT an easy read. One cannot be distracted or tired. One cannot allow her mind to wander away from the words on the page. This is not a book that entertains. It makes one think. It allows the reader to revel in the beauty of language. It challenges. I will be reading it again soon in hopes that I will digest more of the story she told, because I think I missed much too much of it this time.

Nicole Kidman played Ms Woolf beautifully in film and read her words equally as beautifully here.

[Tracy]

3 stars
I listened to Nicole Kidman’s audio version. She did a wonderful job.
This isn’t an easy book. It’s written in Woolf’s version of stream of consciousness. While easier to read than Joyce’s SOC, it’s still not my favorite writing style. But the prose! She wrote scenery like the painting that Lily had envisioned. Because of the SOC, I had a hard time with the characters, and the story was hard to follow.

I do feel that this deserves its place on the list. Woolf was an innovative and very cerebral author. Her prose is wonderful, but I’m having a hard time loving her books so far.

[Diane]

4 Stars

This was my second time to read this book. I read it for the first time several years ago. When I first read it, it was my first Woolf and my first experience with SOC. I have since read a few more from Woolf and many other SOC books, which made this much easier to read than the first time. I still find it one of her more difficult books, though.

It is easy to lose yourself in the beautiful prose. Her writing is a treat to the senses and ahead of its time. It definitely deserves its place on the list.

[Jenni is on storygraph]

3 1/2 stars

The writing is absolutely gorgeous: rich, deep, and painstakingly detailed. Although nothing much really happens, I felt like I experienced a good slice of life from inside the minds of these characters. Reading the book felt a lot like work, but I am glad I stuck with it. I started on my Kindle, but ended up listening to the audio read by Juliet Stevenson for most of the book. She's fantastic.

[Kristel]

I’ve read this twice now and really enjoyed reading it with others. My first time delivered a 3 star read but this time I took time to dig in and here are my thoughts;
I’ve finished To the Lighthouse for the second time and feel a third reading is in the making. Virginia Woolf wanted to write a different type of book and was influenced by Sigmund Freud and used stream of consciousness to capture that which is hidden and submerged in our subconscious. Writing was also influenced by Origin of Species.

Mr Ramsey quotes The Charge of the Light Brigade which shows his anxieties of mortality and also might be a foreshadowing of the war and loss of young men that go to war. Mrs Ramsey quotes “All the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be, are full of trees and changing leaves” (Charles Elton) which reflects her sense of time and cycle of life. I especially like the use of the tree and leaves. Later the storm hits and the leaves are ripped from the trees. Also Lily keeps thinking “move the tree” in her painting.

The dinner party is really the heart of the novel. Here we have people at the tab le alone in their isolation. The windows looking out give a sense of time but then it is dark and the candles are lit and people come together towards the light.

The first part of the book is a single day and evening and each moment is full and lengthy and the last part, no longer SOC is a rush of this person died, that person died, the house began to deteriorate.

I really got so much more out to this book this time and really look forward to reading it again.
I will raise my rating on this book. 4.33 now. I am impressed with the author and look forward to reading more.

[Melissa]

4 Stars for writing, only 3 stars for me personally

I’m very undecided about this one, I was partially bored, partially swept up in the thoughts of everyone, and partially impressed that anyone could write anything coherent while caught up in the inner thoughts and second guesses going on in every characters mind. The introspection is at once amazingly done, while also frustrating... following others thoughts as they spiral around in chaotic circles can be quite tiring.

BUT, even while saying that and admitting it was a frustrating book to read, some of the insights and gems about gender inequalities that are brought to the surface when the women were thinking to themselves, I’m sure were quite remarkable for their time, and sadly still relatable.

[Chili]

3 stars
This was my first book by Woolf and I can't say that I'm a fan. There were some beautifully written passages but the stream of consciousness writing style ruins it for me. I liked that Lily didn't give Mr. Ramsay the sympathy he was looking for. I felt sorry for Mrs. Ramsay, she gave everything she had to everyone and had nothing left for herself. Overall it was an okay read. I didn't hate it but I don't think it belongs on the list.

[Chinook]

I must have listened to the first half hour of this audiobook four times because I just couldn’t get into it. My mind would wander and I’d realize I’d missed a chunk of narration and I had no idea what was going on. So it’s surprising how disappointed I was when it ended and I had no more of the Ramseys to listen to. And I hadn’t realized how sad it was going to be, going from the dinner party where things seemed full of celebration and possibility to the empty house and the devastation of WWI on the family. The third part did the least for me, in terms of James and the trip to the lighthouse but I liked listening to the painting finally being completed.

Having been to Skye, it was easy to picture some of the landscapes and weather that the book spoke of. It really captured a sense of place.

[Valerie]

Read Dec. 2018

This book didn't really 'grab' me and mostly felt like a slog to get through. I don't mind SOC as a style, but I found Mrs Ramsey tiresome and banal. Although some of her thoughts that Woolf touched on suggested that there was more depth to her. I also found it extremely annoying how everyone found her so beautiful - is that the only quality she had to offer? Or perhaps, no-one ever looked any deeper because they were struck by her looks. I thought Lily was a stand in for Woolf. I'm sure she heard many times in her life that 'women can't write' but forged ahead anyway. I also detected some ambiguity as to Lily's sexuality which of course reflects Woolf's life. Overall I can only give it 2.5* (which will be rounded down for GR).

[Nyla]

I remember that this book had a strong effect on me in college, but that was over twenty years ago, and I can't really remember much about it now. I am sure it helped to be reading it in a supportive environment with lots of discussion. I wonder if re-reading it now would be as powerful?

[Jamie]

My review: This novel takes the reader through the thoughts and perceptions of the various characters, hopping from one perspective to another constantly, so that the entire story is from a rather muddled combined perspective of all the characters. The result feels quite muddled and vague most of the time. The story hints at darker undertones, and at the end of the first section the idyllic family holiday scene is jarred by tragedy, but off-screen. The rest of the book follows the family for 4 years and notes additional family tragedies and disappointments, before bringing the family back to finally visit the lighthouse.
The writing is beautiful, and all the talk about boeuf en daube made me very hungry. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

[George P.]

I don't think I've ever read anyone who writes like Woolf. About 4.5 stars for me.
I've just finished, a week later than I planned. I found I needed to read smaller amounts per day than I originally planned to absorb it. I had to read many of her sentences and paragraphs two or three times to feel like I grasped them.
The characters and Woolf's mental explorations were excellent. It has less plot than Orlando, but a similarity to her Mrs. Dalloway I think.
There is even occasional humor, which I didn't think Woolf ever really did, such as this pun:
"She seemed to be standing up to the lips in some substance, to move and float and sink in it, yes, for these waters were unfathomably deep . "

[Karen]

This as a re-read for me. I was apprehensive as I had not read it in about twenty years. I loved it.

If you prefer plot-focused books then you are less likely to appreciate this. It is more a series of vignettes bringing out the characters, with interludes of time between the three parts. The language is beautiful and the writing style is so different, that you often find yourself reading the same paragraphs over and over again.

This is Woolf's most autobiographical novel, with characters focusing on her parents and there seems to be quite a bit of herself in the painter Lily. This is nostalgia for a childhood that has passed and gone but also perhaps a form of revenge on her father, due to the portrayal of Mr Ramsey.

Highly recommended.