2024 #28 To The Lighthouse (Woolf)

 

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first Woolf, and I struggled a bit, but I think that was partially due to the audiobook format. Written in 1927, the story centers on the Ramsay family, with a particular focus on the perspectives and thoughts of Mrs. Ramsay--at least in the first part of the book, which is set prior to the war at a vacation house in the Hebrides. The title, "To the Lighthouse" serves as a metaphor of sorts, but does actually describe the trajectory of the "plot" from prior to the war, during the war, and after. The plot, much like a post-Impressionist/abstract painting by Lily Briscoe, the Ramsay's houseguest, is more of an echo from the amalgamation of mundane activities that cover up the inner tempests and struggles of the characters. When little James Ramsay wants to go the lighthouse, an approaching storm sends his parents into a philosophical and gendered struggle which lets the reader know right away that this is not a plot-driven book.

Nicole Kidman provides a fine reading, with a certain passivity that channels the Victorian sensibilities that are an ever-present undercurrent in the book and are perhaps to blame for the Ramsay's inability to truly communicate with each other. I think I would have enjoyed it more in print, and may read it later on in that format. That said, Woolf's language was poetry and Kidman's fluid reading really brought that out. I try not to read too much about a book before I read the actual book, because I feel it biases whatever relationship I'm going to establish with the book. So while I did not know what to expect, and I can't say I'd like to listen to a lot of books with this same approach, Woolf's writing and insights (and occasional razor-sharp wit) were enough to pull me through to the end.

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