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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a lyrical family story, 10 Feb 2002
By A Customer
To the Lighthouse is Virginia Woolf's fifth novel and one of her most widely read. In three parts, it tells the story of the Ramsay family before and after the First World War: The first one describes a September day spent by the family and some of their friends on the Isle of Skye. The second part deals with the change in the holiday residence and the gradual decline of the house in the following ten years as well as with the life and the fate of the family members. In the last part, Woolf tells us how Mr. Ramsay and two of his children come back after the long absence and how the journey to the lighthouse promised ten years ago finally takes place.
With her usual gift of understanding and reflecting people's thoughts and feelings, fears and longings, griefs and joys, Virginia Woolf steps into the background and leaves it to the characters' reflections to tell the story of their life in an astonishing and beautifully lyrical way.
We read about childhood, marriage, loss and death, grief and love, but also about British society and patriarchal family values during the transition from Victorianism to the Modern times.
I really enjoyed reading To the Lighthouse, because Virginia Woolf's knows, like nobody else, how to combine the thematic challenges she sets herself with a beautiful fluent and lyrical style. What is striking is the identification of the author with the inner state of her characters. You just can't stop reading and deeply regret having reached the final page of the novel.
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable, but slightly difficult., 22 Feb 2001
By A Customer
To the Lighthouse was my first Virginia Woolf book, and I did enjoy it, although I was slightly taken aback by the difficulty of the stream-of-consciousness style. It is probably helpful to read some research on the author, or at least to be a little familiar with her work, before approaching this book. Within Virginia Woolf's books, I believe that To the Lighthouse is rated as "average" difficulty, so it probably should not be the first to read, as I did.In any case, it is an excellent novel from a literary point of view; it is beautifully well written and projects intense feelings on the reader. The book should not be approached as an ordinary novel; you should not expect a conventional plot, because that is not what the writer is aiming at. Instead, you will be able to feel as if you were part of each character, which is a breath-taking experience.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book I have ever read, 8 Jan 2007
Is it a cliche to argue that books can alter your life? I firmly believe that 'To The Lighthouse'(TTL) does. I first read this when I was 14 and rather uneducated Literature wise, but I believe this book is what sparked off my interest in Literature, and I've gone back to read TTL repeatedly and I am yet to be bored by it.
The plot is basic. It centers around the lives of a family who holiday up in Skye one long summer. The book is split up into 3 sections. There is relatively little action in the whole of the novel. In fact, I'd say about 50% of the novel is in 1 day or afternoon, and about 10% of the novel skips time about 10 years.
To really get to grips with TTL it is essential you come to the novel with an open mind. Really appreciate the focalisation on individuals. Woolf is famous for her place in the stream of conciousness movement which included Joyce etc. The beauty of this novel comes from the interactions between different characters. She can focus on the thoughts of the young son in the family, then she can zoom out and focus on the reactionary thoughts of the mother who is engaged in conversation with her son.
Moments like these are what makes TTL a masterpiece. If you haven't read any Woolf then I would recommend TTL as a good initiation. You could read 'Mrs Dalloway' which receives more publicity, but frankly I find it slightly dull.
TTL, however, is far from it and I firmly believe that this will be a book that comes back to haunt you long after you close it.
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by Virginia Woolf
by Virginia Woolf
by James Joyce
by D. H. Lawrence
by Geoffrey Chaucer
