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To the Lighthouse

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About this listen

To the Lighthouse is Virginia Woolf’s arresting analysis of domestic family life, centering on the Ramseys and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland in the early 1900s. Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut), who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Woolf in the film adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours, brings the impressionistic prose of this classic to vibrant life.

Split into three parts, the story observes Mrs. Ramsay, Mr. Ramsey, and their children at their vacation house on the Isle of Skye. While the novel follows seemingly trivial events between the family members, the plot takes a backseat to philosophical introspection, which gave the novel its fame as an icon of modernist literature. The Ramseys’ quest to recapture meaning creates a powerful allegory of man’s impermanent battle with the tangible world.

©1927 Virginia Woolf (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Classics
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Kidman's reading is a joy, her performance commendable. Of course Woolf's prose is a delight. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Superb performance

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A beautifully written book with such vivid descriptions of surroundings and characters brought to life through the superb reading using the words the author so carefully wove onto the pages.

Beautiful writing read seamlessly

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Only for a lover of Woolf. I find her stream of consciousness works dreary.

Has To the Lighthouse put you off other books in this genre?

Not really.

What didn’t you like about Nicole Kidman’s performance?

Everything. I thought, since she played Woolf in The Hours, she would nail it, but it was very bad and very boring to listen to. Firstly, she assumes her natural American accent, which I found unfitting for a book taking place in Scotland and by an English author. Secondly, her voice is very mellow, it wasn't clean enough to make the performance stand out, it seemed as if she were murmuring the book to herself. There were many instances in which she resorted to vocal fry, which I found particularly unpleasant to listen to. I think she killed the book with her performance.

Any additional comments?

Never ask Nicole Kidman to narrate anything again!

Bleak performance

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Virginia Woolf is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers. I don’t think any one writer manages to absorb the reader in each character’s thoughts the way that she does, and I know of no contemporary author that even comes close to the genius that Virginia Woolf was.
No surprise that To The Lighthouse is a masterpiece.
But equally so - as far as this audiobook is concerned, Nicole Kidman’s narration is simply divine.

Outstanding

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Nicole Kidman's dry, deep voice really adds to this classic novel. I found it a little hard to get used to her at the beginning, but after a couple of chapters couldn't imagine anyone else reading it. I hadn't read (listened to!) any Virginia Woolf for a long time, and it was a pleasure to rediscover 'To the Lighthouse'. The shifts in perspective are brilliant. I love the way a character's view of another character can shift so many times in a short walk to the village.

Enjoyable reading of a classic

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