418. Between the Acts

Between the Acts
Virginia Woolf

1941
Around 225 pages

We've finally done with Virginia Woolf, which is very sad considering her ending. And it's hard not to view this through the eyes of her demise, since this was published in the months following her suicide. Not sure how I feel about that.

The story takes place in a town in England, where an annual pageant is being held. This is shortly before World War II, but the show must go on. One of our leading characters is Giles, which pleases me to no end as a Buffy fan. Giles' wife Isa is attracted to a local farmer Rupert Haines (more Buffy!). Miss La Trobe 

is the spinster hellbent on making sure the pageant goes perfectly.

Much of this novel is written in verse, and I was never a fan of super lyrical Woolf. But if you accept it for what it is, it flows. 

Now for the official Virginia Woolf ranking:

1. Mrs. Dalloway
2. Night and Day

3. The Voyage Out

4. Orlando

5. To the Lighthouse
6. Between the Acts

7. The Years
8. Jacob's Room

9. The Waves

RIP.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The Woolfs' London homes had been destroyed in The Blitz in September and October. 

Woolf fell into a depression before her suicide on 28 March 1941, and the novel was published posthumously later that year.

UP NEXT: Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton

392. The Years

The Years
Virginia Woolf
1937
Around 445 pages

There are way too many Woolf novels on this List, and I say that as a fan. Although I enjoy some of her other works, the only novels I would label as essential reads are Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and To The Lighthouse. And we are still not done! Reading this one just bummed me out, considering her mental state at the time.

The novel traces the history of the Pargiter family for nearly 50 years. She has a brilliant way of opening each chapter with a simple sentence to establish the time of year. This really makes the story seem timeless, rather than fixed on certain dates in the twentieth century. Although I usually enjoy family sagas, she tends not to dwell on the juicy and scandalous details. Instead, we just see single days in the lives of fairly ordinary people.

I don't find the scattered prose easy or enjoyable to read. Maybe it was Mrs. Dalloway length, it would have been more digestible. One more to go before the official Woolf ranking.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Last novel published in her lifetime.

Woolf's sister designed the cover art.

UP NEXT: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

348. The Waves

The Waves
Virginia Woolf
1931

Around 325 pages

Virginia Woolf has officially gone full throttle with her experimentalism, making it harder and harder to grasp the thread of the story. She's still talented, but I don't find these later novels nearly as enjoyable as her early works.

The novel follows the reflections of six narrators, all of whom are based on characters in Woolf's life, including Vanessa Bell, T.S. Eliot, and E.M. Forster. I know all novels are auto-biographical to an extent, but does every character lately have to be based on an English author from the 30s? Apparently, yes.

Woolf blends poetry and prose, making something unique that is nearly incoherent and occasionally moving. Poor thing.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

In a 2015 poll conducted by BBC, The Waves was voted the 16th greatest British novel ever written.

UP NEXT: To the North by Elizabeth Bowen

327. Orlando

Orlando
Virginia Woolf
1928
Around 335 pages

Let the gay parade march on! Unfortunately, this coincides with Virginia Woolf's writing style moving away from the everyday reflections to something much more surreal. I find it dizzying, to say the least.

In the 1500s, Orlando serves as a page at the Elizabethan court and falls in love with a slightly deranged princess. He channels his heartbreak into writing a long poem, The Oak Tree, and serves as an ambassador in Constantinople. He falls asleep for several days, and wakes up to find himself a herself.

Obviously, this is a strange novel. For one thing, the main character is about 300 years old. And doesn't seem particularly perturbed to find himself transformed into a woman. Orlando realizes the power of the female sex when she flashes her ankle at a sailor and he nearly falls to death in his arousal. A totally relatable experience.

The historical set pieces in this novel were excellent. Her description of the Frost Fair held on the Thames during the Great Frost of 1608 was particularly memorable. But when your character is a shapeshifting immortal, it's a little hard to relate to. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Nigel Nicolson, Sackville-West's son, wrote that this was the most charming love letter in literature.

Commercial and critical success.

UP NEXT: Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille

316. To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf
1927
Around 210 pages

We are officially entering the weird phase of Virginia Woolf's career. I don't dislike her as much as I dislike other modernist authors, like this blog's favorite punching bag, James Joyce. But I still miss the Night and Day days.

The novel's setting is in the Ramsays' summer home on the Island of Skye. Family dynamics are explored through little things. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay disagree about the weather, the kids don't want to go to the lighthouse. Mostly, the novel explores the feelings behind the characters as time marches relentlessly on.

I know many people who love stream of consciousness. I can take it, in small doses, but I much prefer a more coherent narrative. I like how she focuses on the particular, while conveying something universal. Definitely a talented lady.

She also builds the setting well through the characters' perceptions. Not a favorite, but still an impressive novel.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Woolf viewed this as her best novel.

The house in the novel is based on Woolf's childhood home.

UP NEXT: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, which should make every book we've read so far on this List look like garbage.

304. Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf
1925
Around 200 pages

Virginia Woolf becomes more and more experimental as she ages, which probably has a lot to do with her deteriorating mental state. This is the fourth Woolf novel on the List, and I feel like we are in the sweet spot. She's found her footing as a writer but things haven't become too weird yet. 

We were introduced to the minor character Clarissa Dalloway in The Voyage Out, but she is bumped up to protagonist for this gig. The novel takes place in a single day, the day of Clarissa's party in London. She spends the day getting ready and reminiscing about her choices. 

I love novels that take place in a single day (though I will bitch about Ulysses until the end of time). I love how she zeroed in on the particular, the everyday actions that make up our existence but novelists never pay much attention to. 

And I love getting more queer novels, especially when the writer isn't a pedophile. 

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Working title was The Hours.

Often considered a response to James Joyce's Ulysses. Oh honey, you won!

UP NEXT: Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos.

286. Jacob's Room

Jacob's Room
Virginia Woolf
1922
Around 300 pages

I believe the above image will appear in my nightmares tonight, so I had to share my horror with others. You're welcome. 

Virginia Woolf is definitely growing more experimental with her works, so it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to write a plot summary. We follow the life of Jacob, although the story is mainly told through the perspectives of the women in life, including the upper class Clara Durrant, and an art student he was an affair with. 

The shift from a traditional novel structure to modernism could have been a disaster for Woolf, but she is in her element here and as usual, delivers breath-taking sentences. The stream of consciousness style really bonds you to the author. And when an author had such a tragic life, it's hard not to feel a little heartbroken reading this.

I think this was deleted in later editions. I get it, she is a bit over represented. Still well worth reading.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Woolf's third novel. The previous two were also on the List. 

UP NEXT: The Enormous Room by E.E. Cummings. I never knew he was a novelist.

273. Night and Day

Night and Day
Virginia Woolf
1919
Around 500 pages

Now that this is the only 1001 blog I have left (I finished the music and movie blog), I look forward to writing blog posts more. It also has inspired me to spruce things up around here, so this blog might be getting a makeover soon. The List is feeling a little stale right now, as we ping pong between familiar authors. I guess it's up to me to bring the spruce.

Katharine Hilbery is the granddaughter of a distinguished poet, and thus belongs to the upper class. Katharine is engaged to William Rodney, who should taken public speaking off his list of attributes. Katharine attracts the attention of Ralph Denham, a lawyer who actually has to work for a living to support his long list of dependents. He doesn't realize that Mary Datchet, a suffragette, is in love with him regardless of his social standing. 

Virginia Woolf is clearly still in the early stages of her career, when the plot is much more coherent and the structure less experimental. And I like this Woolf. She seems like the type of person who would catch your eye during a dinner party and make it difficult not to laugh at some social snafu. I liked the love square, as well. It felt like a Shakespearean comedy.

Probably not a necessary addition, since she already covered a lot of this ground in The Voyage Out, but I enjoyed it.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Published following Woolf's second suicide attempt.

UP NEXT: Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence. Not many other sequels on the List.

262. The Voyage Out

The Voyage Out
Virginia Woolf
1915
Around 400 pages

This is the first of nine Virginia Woolf novels on this List, which seems a scooch excessive, even though I like Woolf. This is her debut novel, and probably her most accessible work. 

Rachel Vinrace embarks on a trip to South America on her father's ship. On the voyage, she meets many unique individuals. One of these characters is Mrs. Dalloway, who is the central figure of a later Woolf novel. Slowly, Rachel begins to break free of the confines of London life.

I really liked this novel. Woolf can get a bit too experimental for my taste. I like her best when she is satirizing British society, which she does very well here. It's also fascinating to see the inception of so many themes that she would elaborate on more fully in future novels.

So this is a nice introduction and a good way to ease into Woolf's style.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

E.M. Forster said of the novel, "It is absolutely unafraid... Here at last is a book which attains unity as surely as Wuthering Heights, though by a different path."

Woolf attempted suicide at one point while writing this novel.

UP NEXT: The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. Never heard of it, but digging the author's name.