Charlotte May's Reviews > To the Lighthouse

I appreciate your review! This has been on my TBR for a while but I hesitate to pick it up because it seems to be such a hit or miss.

Sorry this book didn’t live up to the hype for you. I know how you feel. Many books that are deemed classic literature didn’t woo me into loving it. Do you think you’ll read anymore Virginia Woolf books?

@Kyra: thanks 😊 yeah I’ve never misunderstood so many popular reviews for a book before!

@Rachel: thanks 😊 it’s interesting to see what counts as a classic. I feel like I should give her writing a second a chance, no idea when though!

I get your point I don’t get a lot of the classic poets like Byron...🤫

Thank you Amber 😊 glad I’m not alone!

I'm sorry it didn't work out, Charlotte. I hope your next read is great!

Thank you Deanna 😊💖

You can't please everyone so if you give your honest opinion who is to tell you otherwise? You didn't like it and you weren't nasty about it, so it was a fair review.

Thank you Joe 😊🙌

I totally agree with your Review.

Thanks Debbie 😊 glad others can relate

I agree, it's quite a confusing read where I find myself going back to understand the plot. Tbh I only appreciated it for what it was after I read an online summary that solidified the story-line and I could actually visualize the events. I think the complex and overlapping stream of consciousness confuses the reader yet depicts one's zigzag of thoughts appropriately. Overall my opinions of it after the first read was a mess but once you stand back and pick out the main bits you see it depicts differing states of minds, evolving relationships and personal growth.

Tahmina wrote: "I agree, it's quite a confusing read where I find myself going back to understand the plot. Tbh I only appreciated it for what it was after I read an online summary that solidified the story-line a..."

I get what you mean - maybe if I'd been more prepared to know what I was expecting. At least I can say I've tried it :)

I’ve read one of her books but not in a rush to read anymore tbh.

Vanessa wrote: "I’ve read one of her books but not in a rush to read anymore tbh."

Haha glad it's not just me Vanessa :)

I am sorry too, 22 pages into the book and I am left almost completely clueless about what's going on, who is on focus, who is thinking, who is walking.. .. . Can somebody point out what I am doing wrong or missing here. Although I am hopeful that I will get on this with a sync soon.

Ratnam wrote: "I am sorry too, 22 pages into the book and I am left almost completely clueless about what's going on, who is on focus, who is thinking, who is walking.. .. . Can somebody point out what I am doing..."

Just noticed I missed this comment! Sorry Ratnam! I hope you got on ok with it in the end :)

I know you posted this months ago, but in case you're still thinking about it- Woolf is incredible, but never an easy read. I really struggled with her the first time I read one of her novels, but the longer you bear with it the more you get from it. This book is, as far as I know, one of her most autobiographical. Writing Mr and Mrs Ramsay allowed her to let go of the memories of her parents, which she struggled with for a lot of her life. For me, this book is an incredible insight into an amazing woman. Regarding the characters, I think Mr and Mrs Ramsay are so vividly drawn- if by "vague" you mean "changeable" they absolutely are that, but I think what is so amazing about this book is its attempt to understand complex, ever changing human beings from a variety of perspectives, and the eventual acceptance that we can never know them.

I'm with you!

Lea wrote: "I'm with you!"

Thank you Lea, glad it wasn't just me!

I really truly tried finishing it, but with only 20 pages to go I just gave up. I really don't get it.

@Noortje: good on you for lasting that long!

I studied this book at A-level, and wasn't very impressed with it as a story, but as a stream of consciousness piece I found there were some sections that really resonated with me, just a lot of the time my thought processes really didnt seem to match up with Woolfs!

A vague haze is definitely how I remember that book. It did not engage me at all, and I regretted wasting my time. I’m debating whether to try any of her other books considering how praised she is

I completely agree with your review ... i guess that is how it is
Some will love it ... some will not

I have just finished the book. I wish I had read your review instead, it was more interesting.

I felt the same way forced myself 2/3 through the book and then just gave up

I am an avid literature reader and ive read some of the best authors ever. Classics of all eras. And this book is one of my least favorite books ever read. Unbearably boring and cryptic language. Poor writing for me. Has its place in world litetature for its innovations, but is no pleasure to read

This sums it up perfectly. Who is thinking what and when. I just put the book down and i cant tell what its about. English is My second language, but i think you would have to be born in that time period to understand the point of the book, even as an english speaker.

I'm halfway through and struggling for reasons similar to yours. It's hard to keep track of who is who and I'm finding the main characters insufferable.

I didn’t get it either ! Couldn’t follow what was going on at all ! Not for me what so ever . Personally I lost my plot trying to read it and figure who was who and saying what and what was going on !

I am glad to see these reviews which are all more akin to my own view. I often picked up the book in our local bookshop and wondered about buying it. Finally I did but I just did not get this book at all and although persevering to the end, was sorry that I had wasted my time. The middle section was ok and thought things might take off but alas no. I was then at the point when having read so far I may as well continue. Definitely not one of my better reads and not quite sure what I have missed when reading some of the more glowing reviews.

I am relieved that someone said this! I had the same issue with the book. Seriously was thinking...people enjoy reading this?

Charlotte the vile comment has been removed. 🌞🌞

I have tried this book a number of times and haven't got past the first chapter. I completely agree with your review. Who is talking? Does everybody have the same personality...Virginia Woolf's? I wasn't sure where I was in the story and there was nothing compelling me to continue to read other than it's hyped reputation.

The beggining feels like a heavy weight in your brain. But the vagueness makes it beautiful. I just finished it for a postmodernism class and I liked it. It's non conventional, it's prose, it's enthralling to be able to be inside of many people's minds.

I am reading it right now and I feel the same way. Should I finish reading it? I'm 25% through and struggling.

Hi! I know I arrive many years later. When I first started reading this book I was kinda confused. I just couldn’t understand who was thinking or talking, just like you. I got a little stressed but still I was caught by the reflections’ intensity, the atmospheres, the poetry. I wanted to continue reading so I told my father, who is a librarian, that I didn’t really understand who was talking or thinking. His answer was so simple yet kind of a little spark to me: “maybe you are not supposed to”. So I navigated through the pages without obsessing to understand and find clarity, I think it is the key to this novel. Woolf wants to melt characters, feelings, existential thoughts just to create a single universal wave in which we can discover ourselves by not distinguishing any precise character or thought. We are all in this existential wave, we try to connect to each other getting lost in our shapes that are everything but boxed in precise lines. You can understand this story if you stop trying to understand it. At least it was for me.

I’m with you on that one. I am more than halfway through and don’t understand a bit. I am also bored. I think I need to read what it is about and start from the beginning.

Amen! I just slogged to the finish line after starting this almost a year ago. Some brilliant passages adrift in a sea of vagaries and meaninglessness. Between this and Burrough’s the Soft Machine, both about 200 pages and each about 180 pages too long, I feel i have been forced to read things that others praise for reasons I cannot parse. Bloated, flowery prose with no purpose. Characters who are mentioned infrequently enough to make you wonder who they are… is it a boarding house? Who are these people? I still don’t know. It’s one thing to not have a plot, but to have no plot and zero character development— it’s not experimental, it’s lazy writing.

Thanks Bianca. I’m on my second reading of this book and your comment is helping.

Well... I'm going to try to help you out of the woods. :-D

Firstly, you haven't missed anything. I get this book, and I think it's pointless. Or, more precisely, other people have managed to write books where the same points have been made better. It's about the quiet, unnoticeable influences. How people reacted to others depended on where they were, with whom, what happened, etc., and not just because of how they themselves were. The unspoken communication was strong in the book. It really doesn't matter if we understand each other correctly, the main thing is what we believe we understand.
I recommend reading Tove Jansson instead. Either November in Moominvalley or her short story collections.

The point with flow-of-consciousness writing is to just let it flow. As if it was your own thoughts written down. As most people think like that. Or it's assumed. I don't know. In the end, it doesn't matter who says/thinks what. When it is important, it is clear enough. It's like expressionist art or music. Just let the words flow through your mind, and don't try to understand, don't try to make it make sense, just read and flow through it, and you'll catch what you catch. It's all good. It's actually a rather psychedelic experience :-D I assume the people who give this book 5 stars are the kind of people who love the feeling of deep understanding, experiences, flow, being one with the universe, and all that jazz.
There are times when I can appreciate that, but this was not one of them. I sincerely hate this book. I think the time I spent reading it was wasted, and I almost regret not DNFing it :-D Almost - because now I have read it and I can say that I will never read it again :-D And I have no problems telling people to just DNF it, and mark it as "read", because life is too short to read "bad" books.

Sorry to say that I disagree with your rating but only because I awarded it one star rather than two. I found it confusing, incomprehensible, extremely boring and massively overrated. Your review summed it up perfectly.