What does everyone think to her as a person and as a writer, I am just reading "Virginia Woolf" by Nigel Nicolson who was the son of Vita Sackville-West Virginia's most intimate friend, and for a short while her lover. I am also going to read "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham which contains three lives one being Virginia Woolf and "Mrs Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf herself. Has anyone read any of these books or heard about them? I'd like to hear people’s thoughts on Virginia Woolf and her writing skills. Personally I feel the idea of capturing someone’s life in one afternoon beautiful and I totally agree that in one afternoon you can tell more about a person than over the period of many years. I fully believe this idea of writing from a person’s stream of consciousness was a revolutionary turn for novelists, I think it is utterly fantastic idea and I am really looking forward to read more!
well dandelion, i applaud your interest in virginia woolf. she's an amazing writer, an amazing thinker, an amazing woman. i would recommend reading Mrs. Dalloway before you read The Hours...you'll pick up the references better that way...The Hours is a gorgeous novel, something I hardly ever say about contemporary books. also, once you make your way through these, To the Lighthouse and The Voyage Out are both rather good (Clarissa Dalloway appears in The Voyage Out). If you're at all looking for autobiographical narrative, Moments of Being is deftly written...and if you haven't already, you should read A Room of One's Own...which is a feminist classic. As you might know from the biography, Ms. Woolf was into experimenting with her writing...and she can be kind of out there...if you dare risk it...read The Waves (collective subconscious, anyone?) and Jacob's Room (requires a lot of work...but totally worth it). If you have any other questions or ideas or comments, I read this Forum almost everyday (perks of a desk job, though they are few) or you can email me. Let me know what you think... witchy
I was deffinatly indending to read Mrs Dalloway first as i heard that the Hours refures back to it on occasions! Thanks so much for your input and suggestions, from what i know about Virginia Woolf excites me.. i am very much looking forward to reading more stuff!
I'm in the middle of To the Lighthouse now. When I first started reading it I guess I didn't 'get' the writing style, but then a few pages in I was like, "OH!" I grokked the style and now I love it. To me her style is more like real life. That is how life is...flowing, our minds jumping from thought to thought, hours and days sort of blurring all together. It is very much like living in the now. heh...be here now.
