To the Lighthouse (Version 2)

Virginia Woolf's classic modernist novel explores the lives and thoughts of the Ramsays and their guests at the family's summer home on the Isle of Skye. The book is divided into three parts, described by Woolf as 'two blocks joined by a corridor'. The first and last parts tell of two days, ten years, and a world war apart. The 'corridor' describes the decay and renovation of the house over the intervening period, punctuated by marriages and deaths among the Ramsays and their friends. To the Lighthouse remains noteworthy for its use of multiple perspectives to reveal complexities of perception and experience. It can be enjoyed both for Woolf's vivid portraits of character and relationship and for its insights into the philosophy of writing and visual art. This reading is based on the British edition of the book, which varies in parts from the American edition that was published in the same year. (Summary by Phil Benson)