'An acute awareness of transience...'
After watching The Hours (A film about Virginia Woolf) I decided to give To the Lighthouse a go. I have about seventy pages left and I can definitely state that I am gonna be sad when I finish. Woolf's style has me in awe. Her prose is on par with Faulkner and Dostoevsky for power. The critic who stated that Woolf's novel presents 'an acute awareness of transience' couldn't of put it better.
I have started this thread for some novel recommendations. Does anyone know of any other novels/writers that share such a strong representation of the transience of life as To the Lighthouse and also features such a fantastic portrayal of complex characters. Of course there is Faulkner, Dostoevsky, Beckett and Shakespeare but there must be more writers out there that write with a similar outlook. Perhaps writers with a similar impressionistic style as Woolf and Faulkner.
Also, if anyone else enjoys Woolf what other works of hers are worth a read?
If you like Woolf, read her ....
She is perhaps the only writer of the early 20th century that I find extremely boring. I haven't been able to get through one of her books. Pesonally, I don't know how she can be compared to Faulkner whom I find very interesting and understandable. I found her novel Orlando to be a mish mash of ideas. Mrs Dollop is supposedly her best novel. I wont argue with those who like her, but I find her intolerable. I have a leather-bound copy of To the Light House that I will sell to a Woolf lover for $45.00 (what I paid for it) with free shipping to anwhere in the US.