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Die Dame Im Spiegel. Fünf Erzählungen (1960)

by Virginia Woolf(Favorite Author)

3.66 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Insel Verlag

review 1: Like so many books of short stories, even this collection of five stories from the unassailable Virginia Woolf, is something of a flea market. Ranging from the absolute sublimity of the collection's eponymous story, through to the stolid indifference of "Solid Objects" and the rambling inanity of "The Mark on the Wall", this collection leaves no doubt of the genius of her writing, but suggests Woolf made short shrift of the importance of story-telling. The difficulty with Woolf is much the same as the protagonist's from "Solid Objects", whose purpose is waylaid by any number of droll diversions. Her fascination with trivialities steals her attention away from more serious matters, and instead of counterpoising the beauty of her prose with the need to tell a story, the sto... moreries have an innate tendency to drift with little purpose. However, along with the title story, the final story, "Lappin and Lapinova", rescues the collection by offering a clever and insightful tale about the subjective and nuanced minutiae of married life. By offering stunning description suffused with complex characters and exemplary poise, Woolf proves that even with her tendency to meander, her words carry enough weight to keep even the most unforgiving reader wedged firmly in their seat.
review 2: So lovely! The Penguin people compared books from this series to a bag of chips in their vlog/making of video because you can't stop yourself from reading them in one go, but Virginia Woolf's book is a lot more like some kind of rich tea biscuit. Elegant and so soft and creamy it just melts in your mouth (or your mug), but at the same time very homely. At the same time I love the way this tiny book showcases the whole extent of Virginia Woolf's talent - there are both poetic, stream of consciousness pieces and very political-feminist ones as well a touch of playful fantasy. It's really ideal as an introduction to her writing. less

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