Found this piece written long back (Jan 14, 2013 to be exact.. Um.. For some magazine review)
‘To the Lighthouse’ is my recent pick from the bookstore. (Wrote I, a long time back…)
Having gorged upon some non-fiction for a while, I badly wanted to revisit classics and Virginia Woolf seemed like the author who could satisfy the craving for some literary-crunch. Having only heard that her diary’s a complicated read, I braced myself for some challenge and frankly, the text did require some effort.
Woolf has taken up a simple plot, which describes the Ramsay family planning to visit the Lighthouse. Less on action and high on observations is how the narration proceeds, that one might sometimes get lost in the winding alleys of thought process and will have to tread back to get to the thread.
Neatly divided into three stages, the plot traverses through different decades elegantly and Woolf has beautifully portrayed the transitions in human nature. Each part takes us through different stages in the lives of the Ramsays. As it proceeds, the narration always seems to buzz around one person at a time, sweeping up all the thoughts of the person. Human nature and perceptions are neatly spelt out through their interactions and monologues.
Who could’ve thought that a whole 30 pages could actually describe only a scene at the dinner table and the reader actually being able to enjoy it all, without being touched by monotony! And another section portraying only loneliness that could grip you. Should I say, ‘That happened to me’, because, having felt a sudden pang of solitude, for no known cause, I finally found it to be emanating from the book itself, as I read through portrayals of isolated objects scattered around the deserted Ramsay house. When even lifeless objects seem to spell out stories, Woolf takes time to analyze human emotions in her own way and succeeds in giving us a completely unconventional piece of literature, together with a whole new experience.
In all, the plot is not about whether the Ramsays made it to the Lighthouse or not, but about the journey itself to the place and Woolf takes us on a unique journey, similar to one where a traveller goes around observing the many facets of people.
Anilicious 