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jeffreywbush's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
champers4days's review against another edition
4.0
Night and Day was an incredibly detailed study of four people - Mary, Katherine, Ralph and Rodney - as they negotiate their feelings for each other, their family and the world around them during pre-WWI England. Not at all surprising, the writing is stunningly impressive. Woolf expressed the minutest of feelings as vividly as setting and imagery, to the point where individual reflection felt like settings in and of themselves at times. And of course, the main characters fell into and out of love with one another at varying points in the book, lending a drop of Shakespearean comedy (of the Midsummer Night’s Dream variety) to an otherwise serious portrayal of changing and unpredictable emotions. The book can go on at times, and complaints that the content does not justify the length are not unfounded, but I personally did not mind spending more time than necessary with such insightful and expressive prose :-)
thayawar's review against another edition
4.0
This feels like a very different Woolf novel, and one I attempted to read on numerous occasions and am so grateful I finally got into it! Her prose is truly delicious and only Woolf could describe choosing different roads to walk down in London to bring about different types of thoughts and feelings or that plants in Kew Gardens gape and peer at the beauty of the protagonist, each flower suggesting her different types of thoughts. So so stunning :)
abitlikemercury's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
amaustin's review against another edition
4.0
This book started out dreadfully slow. Though it was quite different from Virginia Woolf's other novels, I approached this novel with a similar sort of skepticism that I did her others. It is hard for me to look at any of Woolf's novel and see a clear "point" that is not buried under deflection or prose. Surprisingly this novel is very clear--and that was refreshing. Without worrying about missing or misunderstanding, I was able to enjoy the plot, the beautiful prose. I felt that of all her novels I've read thus far (Voyage out, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse), the characters in this one were true characters with complexities and good points and faults, not just caricatures designed to symbolize some abstract purpose.
So to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book, particularly the latter half. I came to actually like Kathrine, though she is not a particularly sympathetic heroine, and I really liked Mary and Ralph. Even William, despite his many faults.
Overall, a good story with some of the most beautiful English prose I've ever read. She has a way of writing that captures the wild mess of human existence perfectly and in the way I feel it.
So to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book, particularly the latter half. I came to actually like Kathrine, though she is not a particularly sympathetic heroine, and I really liked Mary and Ralph. Even William, despite his many faults.
Overall, a good story with some of the most beautiful English prose I've ever read. She has a way of writing that captures the wild mess of human existence perfectly and in the way I feel it.
fluencer's review against another edition
5.0
This book echoes my own love life, showing a different shade of it. Woolf is a genius. I will read this book again.
ocelema's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5