To the Lighthouse

by Virginia Woolf

[rohshey]

Oh how will I describe the heaviness of it all. I suppose I must try. I am thinking that one should be warned as the effort you need muster is immense.

Virginia Woolf writes using a stream of consciousness, which provides for an interesting read as she explores the psychological effects of same events on different characters and permits the reader to study the characters in the novel to a greater extent. She doesn't speak from the first-person point of view of each character, but uses the third-person instead, so that all characters, no matter what age, have similar intellectual capacity as it appears. You'll need to devote a great deal of attention to the novel, it is hardly a light book, and you would probably only enjoy it to the full extent if you like this type of writing. Personally, Woolf's style is not one that I prefer, and I had a hard time getting into the novel.

Just as the book began to envelope me within the small world of the Ramsays, the self-conscious cleverness disturbed the engagement. My mind receded from the Ramsays and instead saw Virginia Woolf sitting and thinking of some phrase for readers more impressed by cleverness than simple sincerity.

If you've never read any of her works previously, it is a pretty good novel to begin with to determine whether this style is to your liking.