Woolf's Challenge

[thisnewday]

I'm now a hundred and fifty pages into Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and almost feel like I'm cruisin.' I do have to stop, now and then, to go back over a passage that I haven't gotten on the first pass because, you know, Woolf's writing is pretty dense and I don't want to miss anything.

By dense I mean that every word, every sentence, every freakin' punctuation mark, lol, has significance, is loaded with meaning. And yet, every so often, she'll throw out a one-liner that's absolutely hilarious.

It's been quite an experience, so far, often challenging but invariably rewarding when the challenge is well and seriously taken. Like I said, Woolf's writing is dense but it's dense with meaning and purpose and an amazing poetry so intricately made of the sights and textures and sounds of the life that's all around us but mostly taken for granted.

So the challenge, really, is to experience life as Woolf and her characters do, the fulness of it, the beauty and the pain, the ecstasy and sorrow of it, that Woolf herself experienced from beginning to end.

All of which makes me feel that it's little wonder that she lived and died the way that she did, constantly challenging herself to live and work with such intensity that she finally came to that moment when she knew that she simply couldn't do it any longer.

I'm not there yet, thankfully, because I have six more of her books sitting on my bookcase, as yet unread.

And I don't want my daughter to find them there, like that, a sort of final extravagance that didn't yield the returns that would've hopefully been expected...

LPK
Dreamwidth
9.23.2017 

Comments

[rosegardenfae]

I finished the book this morning. Seem to have few words lately (unlike our dear Virginia)so will comment more later. Yet there is one thing - if I think of her words as poetry I feel more satisfaction in the reading.

You are most eloquent in your assessment of the experience.

[thisnewday]

Thanks, and I totally agree with you about the poetry, for it's definitely that. I just finished myself, this morning, and was definitely helped by Harris's biography which I read first. At first, I thought it was too analytical but it actually gave me some concepts which got me through some of the harder-to-navigate parts of the novel. If not for that, I'd prolly still be swimming, lol...

[rosegardenfae]

Do you think you will read the others? Another of my LJ friends is reading "To the Lighthouse." She says Virginia makes her feel dense. I can relate to that. But, denseness, aside, Woolfe can paint hauntingly lovely word images.

I wish I could be a fly on your shoulder when you go to book club, maybe that should be butterfly?

[thisnewday]

Yes, I do intend to read the rest. That includes "The Waves," "To the Lighthouse," "Night and Day," "The Voyage Out," "Orlando," and "Moments of Being." And I agree, the density of Woolf's prose can definitely do that to you. As I previously mentioned, Alexandra Harris got me through a lot of it. That said, her bio was one of the most challenging reads I've undertaken since college. But having waded through it, it paid off. You're welcome to be on my shoulder but, yes, the butterfly would be preferable. And certainly no mosquitoes or bees, lol...

[rosegardenfae]

Well, I have "The Waves" and "To the Lighthouse" on my bookshelves and read both so long ago that I've forgotten them, so I could do those over.The others I haven't read, though I think I started "Orlando."

Now I'm totally scared of the Harris bio. If you found it a challenging read, I'd probably drown. So have started the bio that I already own and find that at least I'm not struggling with it.

Thinking I may always have had more interest in Virginia than in her novels. But, after all, 25 yrs. ago when I became enamored with her, I was not as I am now.

Enjoying having someone with which to read and talk books.

Very small butterfly...don't want folks giggling and pointing at the old guy with a butterfly on his shoulder. *smirk*

[thisnewday]

HaHaHa, don't worry about the pointing and laughing. They're gonna do that anyway, for reasons other than the butterfly, lol. And you know what, about the bio? I'm not as I used to be either. In these, my declining years, I have the attention span, and probably the overall mental acuity, of a seven-year-old. No insult the seven-year-olds intended. And I don't know if the one I read was the best choice, or if it could even be called a choice. More like luck of the draw. It may be that any bio would've helped or that there are ones out there, had I known about them, that would've helped more. Actually, the one you're talking about sounds more like what I was looking for and more like the ones I've read in the past on Scott and Zelda, Sylvia Beach, ol' Hem, and others because, like you, I'm probably more interested in the lives behind the books, which, by the time I decided to read a bio, I'd already read. This time, I reversed the process because I was so intimidated by the reputed difficulty of Woolf's writing and because I needed to find a more positive point of engagement after reading her snippy comments about James Joyce. And so, having accomplished both with some arduous work on my part, I think I lucked out, having stumbled upon a fairly decent and certainly authoritative biography. It's just that by this time, in the cycle of Woolf's legacy as a writer, it's more about the literary theory than about her life and we're both more inclined towards the former than the latter. Arrgh! Sorry for being so long-winded and professorial. Don't even know how many butterflies THAT'S driven away, lol. Even the hornets and wasps can't stand it. But now I've gotta go get dinner stuff for the kid who's coming after school to work. Probably sitting in school dreading another of my talks on power tool safety. Just gimme the sander and let's get this done, he's probably thinking. Then he counters with his excruciatingly detailed knowledge of the latest NBA trades and we're off, lol. What a pair. Hope you have a great day...

[rosegardenfae]

For the record, your professorial qualities are a big part of what draws me to you. Intelligence and the ability to string words together as you do so well are, well, just downright sexy.

I love hearing about the time you spend with your grandson in the workshop. Those times will be his forever, the skills, the memories, and the male camaraderie. All the best things.

And I'm excited as Erin is going on a trip and Anah is staying with me all weekend!

[thisnewday]

Yayyy, for having the grandkids! I try not to think about the fact that I have to pay mine to be here, lol, and otherwise have to make an appointment well in advance to have it happen. But it is great to have them around, whatever the circumstances. And yes, I hope he remembers some of the good things about it, not just the times I've had to enforce the "no cell phones in the shop" rule, lol. Glad to hear that Anah will be there for the weekend and hope that the two of you have a great time!