REVIEW: To The Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)

Book: To The Lighthouse

Author: Virginia Woolf

Premise: The serene and maternal Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and assorted guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. As time winds its way through their lives, the Ramsays face, alone and simultaneously, the greatest of human challenges and its greatest triumph—the human capacity for change.

This was my 4th attempt at reading To The Lighthouse. Virginia Woolf uses stream of consciousness narration, which makes it a challenge. I find I have to be in the right mindset for her books. Also be warned that there isn't a plot as such, it's characters and contemplation.

I absolutely adored this book. It's beautifully written, so much so that I was underlining sections and making notes as I went along. The first part covers one day. We meet the characters and get a good glimpse at normal life for them. The second part is very poetic and we move with the holiday cottage itself through time. The final part is another day but a few years in the future. I find Virginia Woolf is very observant and managed to capture humanity perfectly. She somehow manages to capture the mundane and make it beautiful.

Really really glad I came back to this book!