Summer '07 Reading: 'To The Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf

[Scheherazade]

We will be reading To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf during the next three months.

This novel is an extraordinarily poignant evocation of a lost happiness that lives on in the memory. For years now the Ramsays have spent every summer in their holiday home in Scotland, and they expect these summers will go on forever.
In this, her most autobiographical novel, Virginia Woolf captures the intensity of childhood longing and delight, and the shifting complexity of adult relationships. From an acute awareness of transcience, she creates an enduring work of art. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

from amazon.co.uk

Please post your opinions and questions on the book in this thread.

Book Club Procedures

[Virgil]

Yay!!! I'm still on the June read, but this will be a great read.

[Scheherazade]

Yay!!! I'm still on the June read, but this will be a great read.

[Quark]

When will the discussion begin?

[Scheherazade]

There is no set time frame but we usually discuss as we read along... so probably in couple of days, when everyone gets their copies?

[Turk]

W. Woolf looks like a lesbian, but i will read for the sake of Scherazade.

[Quark]

Can I start a rival thread for Tender is the Night and try to pull people towards it?

I'm a poor loser.

[Scheherazade]

Can I start a rival thread for Tender is the Night and try to pull people towards it?

I'm a poor loser.

You can always start a discussion thread in F.Scott Fitzgerald section of the Forum

I am far from being a Woolf fan myself but this is the beauty of the Book Club; we get to read the books/authors we don't usually pick ourselves.

And I always say it is more fun to rant about a book after reading it!

[Quark]

I am far from being a Woolf fan myself but this is the beauty of the Book Club; we get to read the books/authors we don't usually pick ourselves.

And I always say it is more fun to rant about a book after reading it!

I can understand that if you've only read Woolf's earlier novels like The Voyage Out or Night and Day you might become bitterly opposed to Virginia Woolf. To The Lighthouse, however, is entirely different. Woolf later novels lose the boring plots of her earlier works and gain a detached, philosophical tone that is really interesting and perceptive. It is a bit of a change. The later novels are less about exposition and more about investigation. If you give the book a chance, I think it will surprise you.

[Scheherazade]

I have so far read Mrs Dalloway and Orlando...

I don't like stream of consciousness and Woolf's themes in general.

And I think I said this before but I will be surprised if I like To The Lighthouse!

[Quark]

I don't like stream of consciousness and Woolf's themes in general.

And I think I said this before but I will be surprised if I like To The Lighthouse!

Well don't look at me: I voted for Fitzgerald.

[Scheherazade]

Well don't look at me: I voted for Fitzgerald.

Wishing I had too!

[Turk]

And I think I said this before but I will be surprised if I like To The Lighthouse!

A woman who's feign to be a writer is a woman who tries to be a man.

[Scheherazade]

A woman who's feign to be a writer is a woman who tries to be a man.

I know. Women shouldn't worry their little heads with such 'serious' pursuits. Leave the book discussions to you guys too maybe.

Anyway, I am off to the kitchen. Can I make tea or coffee for you guys? Some cakes and sandwiches as well?

[Turk]

I know. Women shouldn't worry their little heads with such 'serious' pursuits. Leave the book discussions to you guys too maybe.

Anyway, I am off to the kitchen. Can I make tea or coffee for you guys? Some cakes and sandwiches as well?

Yeah thanks, i would like to eat cheese sandwich and tea, thanks for now.