To the Lighthouse :: Virginia Woolf

This month I tackled my first 'white whale' for 2010. These are books that for whatever reason I haven't been able to finish - despite numerous attempts.

I've been reading Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse since 1999 when the awesome Professor Phil Fisher (elbow patches and all) assigned it in my 20th Century Novel class. I'm not sure why it's been so difficult for me to read: it's only 209 pages long. This time was no easier, though, as it took me almost 4 weeks to finish, which is kind of stupidly long for a book this short.

That's not to say it isn't good; it is, of course. I'm just not sure I enjoyed it. It's the type of book that I would have appreciated much more in an academic setting. Professor Fisher would have really shown me the way. I loved that guy.

Anyway, the novel is in three parts and is ostensibly about the Ramsay family (and some friends) on vacation in the Hebrides. In part one, James - the youngest boy - desperately wants to visit the nearby lighthouse. The conversation that follows, with regard to whether the weather (!) will allow it, sheds light into the relationships and tensions within the family. Also in the house are a sycophantic colleague of Mr. Ramsey, a newly engaged couple, and uncertain young painter, Lily Briscoe, who all come together for a large dinner party at the end of section one.

Section two, or Time Passes, is meant to give the reader the sensation that ten years are going by. We learn the fates of many of the characters; most notably Mrs. Ramsay who has passed away during this period. Woolf herself described this section as an experiment and as a reader, I'd say, you get it.

The last section of the book, of course, takes place ten years after part one. Mr. Ramsay returns to the house to finally take the trip to the lighthouse. As he and the children go to the lighthouse, Lily, who has also returned to the house, more assuredly works on the painting that she was so insecure about before.

Like many modernist classics, To The Lighthouse's accomplishment is not in the narrative, but in the telling. While not that much happens in the novel, Woolf's writing vividly conveys all the emotions and tensions of the Ramsays' world.

Again, an obvious achievement (not that anyone needed me to say it). But, you know, not "fun".

4 out of 5 stars.

Nine Stories :: JD Salinger

Psych, back to the old format.

The Flannery O'Connor I read in January got me hankering for some good short stories. One of my favorite collections (books, even) is Nine Stories, which I also reread (for the billionth time) in honor of JD Salinger's recent death.

Please indulge me as I muse on Salinger. Like, most people I was first exposed to his work - The Catcher in the Rye - in my ninth grade english class. In its tone, honesty and energy, it was unlike anything I had ever read before. I loved it not just for the storytelling, but for the what it showed me about what books could do and what reading should be like.

Anyway, later that year I picked up what is if not my favorite book, then at least is in my Top 5: Franny and Zooey. As the introduction to the intricately imagined Glass family, Franny and Zooey opened the door to a style of writing that I never ceased to be in awe of, no matter how many times I reread. Salinger built his characters through simple, well-turned phrases and a humor that no writer since (in my mind) has come close to achieving. I'm not sure I can string words together to sufficiently describe what that book means to me. Let's just say when I've seen people reading it on the subway, I've actually struck up conversations about it. And I am NOT that kind of person.

My curiosity about the Glass family now engaged, my next Salinger was Nine Stories, which I read again this month. The first story of the collection, A Perfect Day for a Bananafish, is tragic and sweet and jarring. I'm the type of person that forgets what she's read before I've closed the back cover, but I remember every detail of this story and always have.

The other eight stories are funny, heartbreaking, sentimental, but never maudlin. If I were to list the best ones, I'd just end up listing them all. But for good measure, here are two other highlights: For Esme - with Love and Squalor AND Teddy.

Read this book, it's very, very good (and read all the others too):

5 out of 5 stars