Wonderfully read by Juliet Stevenson

Such beautiful writing, beautifully read. The story slightly peters out towards the end, but still really enjoyed it. Virginia Woolf has true insight.

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1 person found this helpful

Enchanting

I was sorry to finish it. The narration was exquisite, it gave life and added even more depth to a masterpiece of English literature.
I found Stevenson's voice very relaxing to listen to and never monotonous.

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A Brilliant Listen

I loved this book from the very beginning. Though hard to follow in places, Virginia Woolf has you from the first page. To The Lighthouse is a funny, sad, brilliant book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to have a book they will love forever.

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Minds

I loved the language journey into minds and gender issues through observation of ordinary house and garden things.

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Star performance of very significant 20C novel

Loved it. This is a tour de force of beautiful writing sensitively converted into audio. Juliet' s reading makes the narrative easy to follow and illuminates key passages. Well worth listening to several times.Thank you so much.

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An interesting book

An interesting book but not very easy to follow since it is written in the form of "stream of consiousness" or "interior monologue", meaning that the narrator depicts the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind of the characters- but Juliet Stevenson's reading renders the task much easier and even more enjoyable. She changes her voice in a way which makes it easy for the reader to know who is talking (sometimes it can be very hard to guess!). The difficulty of Virginia Woolf's writing, however, makes it necessary to stop and reread some passages. The book tells the story of Mrs Ramsay, a submissive wife and mother of eight children, who believes men to be intellectually superior to women "this admirable fabric of masculine intelligence", and who is constantly sympathizing with her tyranical husband and pitying men, especially the unmarried among them. She tries to marry Lily Briscoe, a young promising painter to Mr Bankes. but the former turns out to be a truly uncoventional woman who refuses to marry and who questions and internally rebells against Mrs Ramsay's utterly conventional and submissive attitude towards men.

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12 people found this helpful

Little happens with little purpose

This is a novel where very little happens and it is difficult to find a story or a purpose.
The book is set in the early 20th century and follows the Ramsay family, a couple with eight children, and their friends at their summer home on the Isle of Skye. He is a tense Philosophy Professor and she is beautiful and wise. There is a repeated request by the children to visit the lighthouse the next day, but the weather never permits this. Mr Ramsay is reluctant to make the trip but Mrs Ramsay is more optimistic.
In the second part of the book, ten years have passed, the First World War has come and gone. Mrs Ramsay and two of the children are dead and Mr Ramsay is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his wife, particularly her encouragement for his work.
In the final section some of the remaining family and friends finally take the trip to the Lighthouse. The adult children see their father in a more sympathetic light and he is more caring. There is some fishing and the completion of a painting but this is all very obtuse.
This novel may be about the complexity of human relationships and unresolved conflict but it is all very middle class, themes are generally eluded to rather than explored and much of the time the novel is ....boring. However, the saviour is Woolf's writing which is multi-layered and well crafted indicating that she could write brilliantly. Maybe she achieved this in her other novels like Mrs Dalloway and Orlando., but she doesn't do it here.

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3 people found this helpful

Simply lovely

Woolf's writing is a joy and Ms Stevenson's performance is perfect. A sublime indulgence. Timeless

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliant piece of literature

The narrator does a wonderful job! I find it easier to listen to an audiobook when it comes to modernist stream of consciousness literature.

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1 person found this helpful

A great rendition of a great book

A very interested and engaging book which is still relevant today, brought to life by Juliet Stevenson. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful