To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

I suppose the best way to start out this To the Lighthouse post would be to quote a passage directly from the book in question: "He was reading very quickly, as if he were eager to get to the end."

Except in my case, I was eager to get the end because I was desperate to start a new book. As many of you may have realized, it is not humanly possible for me to finish my challenge on time, but I'm still pushing through as best as I can. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book, which made my task even more arduous.

"But Kayla," you ask, "why didn't you like the book? Weren't you excited to finally read a book by the only female author on your list?"

Well, dear reader, to put it simply, there were just too many characters in the first part of the book, entitled "The Window", for me to follow. The moment I would start to understand the idiosyncrasies of Mr. Rayley, for example, Woolf would immediately begin describing what Mr. Ramsay thought of his children. And then when I started to feel sympathetic for young Mr. James, I would be introduced to all 7 of his brother and sisters. The 16 characters in the first section alone left me dizzy with confusion. Not to mention that they later all convene at a dinner party.

Once the first section was over, however, I was able to finally focus on what matters in this story: the relationships. The characters' relationships to each other, and to nature, are more important than any of the dialogue or narration. They are the reason why this book is considered a classic, and why I found the novel even remotely interesting.

For example, the feelings that Mr. Ramsay has for his wife and his children ebb and flow much like the ocean at his doorstep. One minute, all is calm and serene as he muses on his wife's beauty. Then all of a sudden, he hates how she panders to their children, and is angered by her generosity to those less fortunate than them. It is this constant tide of emotions that each character feels for his friends and family that kept me reading.

At any rate, this book is not one that I recommend at the moment. While the relationships kept me from putting the book down in defeat, They aren't enough to persuade me to pick the book up again.

At least, not for a very long time.