Gorgeous stream of conscious character studies and feminist commentary on art, impermanence, and value. ( )

El hijo menor de los Ramsay quiere ir al Faro que se ve del otro lado de la ventana, allá, lejos de la costa de la isla en la que están veraneando en familia. Pero mañana no hará buen día, dijo el padre, desalentando las fantasías del niño, y las de la madre que siempre lo apaña también. Así, se presenta una disyuntiva. Hay mucho en juego, los conflictos de poder y los roles de una familia quedan al desnudo en esta novela intimista de Virginia Woolf. ( )

In high school when I was assigned to read [b:A Room of One's Own|18521|A Room of One's Own|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883012l/18521._SY75_.jpg|1315615] I hated it so much that I refused to do the follow up assignment after. Which, for perspective, was extremely out of character for a rule-following-A -sophomore-student in an advanced class with seniors. When this one came around in an assignment my senior year of college I groaned and expected much the same level of hatred.

Yet, clearly, that wasn't the case. I ended up getting really into this and doing a whole thesis on it as well as multiple presentations to the class. Guess I really liked some parts of it. Maybe I just really hate stream of consciousness writing? Anyway - this one has a plot and characters, which is more than I can say for [b:A Room of One's Own|18521|A Room of One's Own|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883012l/18521._SY75_.jpg|1315615]. ( )

Another favorite to add to the collection. I just finished the book, and have to say that I struggled at the beginning to get into the stream of consciousness, and short poetic imagery with run-on sentences. This is not your standard novel. Virginia Woolf obviously was experimenting with her writing, to try to find a new way of telling the story in a novel format. She does this admirably, but it will take time for the reader to get used to it. Keep reading. It will come to you, and the pleasure will be worth the effort.
I could say much more about this book, but I will leave it to others on Goodreads who have done much better job of writing a review. Piyangie wrote a wonderful review that captured many of my thoughts. This will be a book that I return to several times in years to come. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2013 about this read: "First Woolf read. Interesting style and she's interesting. Her visual of the story stays in the mind's eye (box, flat line, box). All about relationships, family and men and women's roles, in my pov. And it's understood to have many parallel's to Woolf own childhood family life." Quotations in the comments section are my exact kindle highlights, including from the forward section regarding the novel; some seem incomplete but kept them in none-the-less. ( )