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فرجينيا وولف سيرة حياة
"ففي صباح الجمعة، الثامن والعشرين من آذار، وكان يوماً بارداً، ألقاً، مشرقاً، ذهبت فرجينيا كعادتها إلى غرفة عملها في الحديثة، وهناك كتبت رسالتين، ولاهما إلى ليونارد، والأخرى إلى فانيسا، فهما اللذان تحبهما حباً جمّاً. أوضحت في كلتا السالتين أنها تسمع أصواتاً، وأنها تعتقد أنها لن تشفى، وهي لا تريد الاستمرار في إفساد حياة ليونارد. ثم عادت إلى المنزل وكتبت رسالة ثانية إلى ليونارد: "أيها الأعز، أنا واثقة أنني سأجن مرة أخرى، وأشعر أننا لا نستطيع أن نعاني مجدداً شيئاً من تلك الأوقات الفظيعة. إني لن أشفى هذه المرة. بدأت أسمع الأصوات، ولا أستطيع التركيز. لذا فأنا فاعلة على ما يبدو لي أنه أفضل شيء أفعله... لا أستطيع الاستمرار في إفساد حياتك، لا أظن أن هناك شخصين يمكنهما أن يكونا أسعد مما كنا" ف. وضعت هذه الرسالة على رفّ الموقدة في غرفة الجلوس، وفي نحو الساعة الحادية عشر والنصف تسللت إلى الخارج ومعها عصاها واتخذت طريقها عبر الحقول نحو النهر. ويعتقد ليونارد أنها ربما كانت ماتت قبل ذلك بمحاولة أخرى للغرق، إن كان الأمر كذلك فقد اذن من فشلها وصممت أن تتقن محاولتها هذه المرة. تركت عصاها على ضفة النهر وجست حجرا في جيب المعطف. ثم مضت إلى ميتتها، فكانت، كما سبق أن قالت لفينا، هي التجربة، هي "التجربة التي لن أضيعها أبداً". هكذا أنهت فرجينيا ستيفن حياتها التي كانت حافلة بالأحداث التي بدت في قسم كبير منها محزنة وأليمة وذلك بسبب المرض الذي ألم بهذه الأديبة المبدعة فرجينيا وولف كما كانت توقع أعمالها الأدبية والمتمثل بالانهيار العقلي (شبه الجنون).
وفي هذا الكتاب سيرة حياتها التي تابعها المؤلف من بداياتها ملقياً الضوء من خلال فصول على أصل عائلتها وأهم الأحداث التي عاصروها، موضحاً مكانة تلك العائلة وميزات كل فرد من أفرادها وصولاً إلى أبيها ستيفن الذي مع سيرة زواجه تبدأ رحلة فرجينيا في هذا الحياة. ولادتها تنشأتها، علومها، نبوغها الأدبي ونشاطاتها صداقتها وزواجها، كتاباتها، مرضها الأول، شفاؤها الذي مارست حياتها الطبيعية من بعده ثم مرضها ثانية، وفي ثالثة كان مصيرها المأساوي.
وفي هذا الكتاب سيرة حياتها التي تابعها المؤلف من بداياتها ملقياً الضوء من خلال فصول على أصل عائلتها وأهم الأحداث التي عاصروها، موضحاً مكانة تلك العائلة وميزات كل فرد من أفرادها وصولاً إلى أبيها ستيفن الذي مع سيرة زواجه تبدأ رحلة فرجينيا في هذا الحياة. ولادتها تنشأتها، علومها، نبوغها الأدبي ونشاطاتها صداقتها وزواجها، كتاباتها، مرضها الأول، شفاؤها الذي مارست حياتها الطبيعية من بعده ثم مرضها ثانية، وفي ثالثة كان مصيرها المأساوي.
794 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
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About the author
Quentin Bell
60books22followersQuentin Claudian Stephen Bell was an English art historian and author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
April 14, 2011
Virginia Woolf was the fiercely brainy and extremely posh girl I would have been far too shy to even dream of speaking to, had I been around then.
But, in an alternative slipstream of history, it turned out that I was alive at the time, and blow me down, there she was in the Smoke Room at the Old Butcher's Dog in Oxford one lovely spring evening in 1927. Her dress shimmered like an aura of sheer organdie, and just as she was about to tuck into some doves' brains on parsley, I turned to her and said "'Ere, Virginia, do you know this one?"
A mother was washing her baby one night
The youngest of ten and a delicate mite
The mother turned round for the soap off the rack
She was only a moment - but when she turned back
Her baby had gone and in anguish she cried
"Oh where has my baby gone?"
And the angels replied
Oh your baby has gone down the plug-hole
Your baby has gone down the plug
The poor little thing was so skinny and thin
He should have been washed in a jug
Your baby is perfectly happy
He won't need a bath anymore
He's a-mucking about with the angels above
Not lost but gone before
And when I opened my eyes (the last note having been projected forth with brio, you see) alas she was no longer there, and the doves brains lay congealing untouched on the now cold toast. When all's said and done, she was a bit snooty.
But, in an alternative slipstream of history, it turned out that I was alive at the time, and blow me down, there she was in the Smoke Room at the Old Butcher's Dog in Oxford one lovely spring evening in 1927. Her dress shimmered like an aura of sheer organdie, and just as she was about to tuck into some doves' brains on parsley, I turned to her and said "'Ere, Virginia, do you know this one?"
A mother was washing her baby one night
The youngest of ten and a delicate mite
The mother turned round for the soap off the rack
She was only a moment - but when she turned back
Her baby had gone and in anguish she cried
"Oh where has my baby gone?"
And the angels replied
Oh your baby has gone down the plug-hole
Your baby has gone down the plug
The poor little thing was so skinny and thin
He should have been washed in a jug
Your baby is perfectly happy
He won't need a bath anymore
He's a-mucking about with the angels above
Not lost but gone before
And when I opened my eyes (the last note having been projected forth with brio, you see) alas she was no longer there, and the doves brains lay congealing untouched on the now cold toast. When all's said and done, she was a bit snooty.
February 6, 2017
It's quite amazing. Seriously, it's even better than I thought it was gonna be. I am really grateful that he was the one who wrote her biography, cause he is a skilled writer and a family member who could not be accused of engorging or minimizing her flaws and virtues.
April 14, 2013
السيرة الذاتية للكاتبة فيرجينيا بقلم ابن اختها بيل كونتين ...
هي سيرة من اروع كتب السير واطولها واشملها ...
تكلم هنا عن فيرجينيا الاخت والفتاة والزوجةوالخاله والانثى التي تعاني والقارئة المتعطشة دوما للكتب والكاتبة التي لاتبرح يدها القلم..
الكتاب طويل يقع في اكثر من سبعمائة صفحه لكنه ممتع حتى تنسى معه عدد الصفحات ومقدار الوقت المتبقى ..وايضا فيه تأريخ لحيات الكاتبة بعد انتهاء الكتاب وصور شخصيات المهمة في الكتاب والتي أثرت في حياة الكاتبة بشكل من الاشكال..وهذا اكثر ماحببت في الكتاب ..
خاتمة السيرة فيها الكثير مما يؤلم حين قررت الكاتبة انهاء حياتها لتتخلص من حياة اتعبها فيه مرضها العقلي ولشعورها بالذنب بسبب احساسها بانها عالة على الاشخاص التي تحبهم زوجها ليناردواختها فانيسا .. والطريقة التي ماتت بهااا ! حقا لااعرف ماذا اقول احساس بالغجعة و قلة الحيلة لانسانة تفقد عقلها رويدا رويدا
فقد حطت رحال الياس ولم تعد تعرف لالامها انفراجة ..
حتى اني اعدت المقطع عدة مرات حقاااا اراث لهاا
....
انصح بقراته
هي سيرة من اروع كتب السير واطولها واشملها ...
تكلم هنا عن فيرجينيا الاخت والفتاة والزوجةوالخاله والانثى التي تعاني والقارئة المتعطشة دوما للكتب والكاتبة التي لاتبرح يدها القلم..
الكتاب طويل يقع في اكثر من سبعمائة صفحه لكنه ممتع حتى تنسى معه عدد الصفحات ومقدار الوقت المتبقى ..وايضا فيه تأريخ لحيات الكاتبة بعد انتهاء الكتاب وصور شخصيات المهمة في الكتاب والتي أثرت في حياة الكاتبة بشكل من الاشكال..وهذا اكثر ماحببت في الكتاب ..
خاتمة السيرة فيها الكثير مما يؤلم حين قررت الكاتبة انهاء حياتها لتتخلص من حياة اتعبها فيه مرضها العقلي ولشعورها بالذنب بسبب احساسها بانها عالة على الاشخاص التي تحبهم زوجها ليناردواختها فانيسا .. والطريقة التي ماتت بهااا ! حقا لااعرف ماذا اقول احساس بالغجعة و قلة الحيلة لانسانة تفقد عقلها رويدا رويدا
فقد حطت رحال الياس ولم تعد تعرف لالامها انفراجة ..
حتى اني اعدت المقطع عدة مرات حقاااا اراث لهاا
....
انصح بقراته
May 26, 2008
Outdated. If you want the most up to date Biography of Virginia Woolf, check out the one by Hermione Lee. There are certain sections of this biography that really angered me. At one point Bell states that Woolf's claim that she was sexually abused as a child is either false or exaggerated. There really is no reason I can think of to believe that, especially when she has described the encounters herself in her own autobiographical writing.
December 4, 2016
إنه الإرهاق في 792 صفحة، ظننتها مبالغة من البعض في عدم إكمالها لما عاشَه من إرهاق أثناءه لكنهم كانوا صادقين! السيرة بلا شك ليست من الكتب التي قد أقترحها على غيري بسهولة.. أجدني أوافق لويز غليك حين تقول:" ثمة دائما ما يمكن صنعه من الألم".. وما عاشته فرجينيا وولف من الألم كان كبيرا، وما صنعته منه كان أكبر..
الكاتب هو ابن أخت فرجينيا ،وقد لا أوافق جميع تحليلاته حول حالتها لأنها لا تستند إلى أسس علمية وهذا غير مستغرب لأن الكتاب نشر سنة 1983 ولم تكن .الأسس العلمية للاكتئاب واضحة كفاية،وإني أشفق على المسكينة فرجينيا حيث ما وجدت المساعدة الكافية من أطباء عصرها
،إلى أن ما يفرح الفؤاد قصة الزوجين فرجينيا وليوناردو ..ليوناردو الذي كان مثالا للزوج الصبور المحب التي ماكان لها أن تستبدله بآخر، وكانا يليقان ببعضهما لأنهما كانا يريدان "عقلا" ليتزوجاه، وهو أسمى ما قد يتفق عليه اثنان.
يقول في رسالة لها يطلب فيها الموافقة على طلبه للزواج :" لقد كنتِ بالضبط كما عهدتك ولو لم أكن أحبك قبلا لأحببتك الآن ،وليس الأمر لأنك حسناء جدا -وإن كان هذا بالطبع سببا كبيرا ويجب أن يكون كذلك- ولا هو لأنني أحبك، كلا ليس الأمر مجرد هذا.. إنه عقلك وشخصيتك - لم أعرف قط من هو مثلك في هذا- فهل تصدقين؟... أنا واثق الآن بأنه -وبصرف النظر عن كوني أحب - سيكون من الجدير بي المغامرة بكل شيء للزواج منك...يا إلهي ،أنا أرى مخاطرةً في الزواج من أي أحد، خاصة من قبلي ؛فأنا أناني ،غيور، قاس، شهواني، كذاب وربما أسوأ ، وقد قلت لنفسي مرارا وتكرارا أنني لن أتزوج من أية امرأة بسبب هذا ؛ولأني بالدرجة الأولى لا أستطيع على ما أظن أن أسيطر على مشاعري مع امرأة أدنى مني وسيؤدي نقصها واستسلامها إلى إلهاب الغضب فيّ بالتدريج... ولأنك لست هذه المرأة فإن المخاطرة تقل كثيرا جدا.. قد تكونين أنت أيضا مغرورة ،أنانية ، غير صادقة كما تقولين عن نفسك، لكن هذه ليست شيئا بالمقارنة مع صفاتك الأخرى ،الروعة، الذكاء، الفطنة، الجمال، الصراحة، وعلى أي حال أيضا فإننا على مودة أحدنا بالآخر ونحب الأشياء نفسها والأشخاص ذاتهم ،وكلانا ذكي والأهم من هذا كله أننا نفهم واقع الأمور التي هي مهمة لنا".
ويضيف في رسالة أخرى:"... يا إلهي السعادة التي شعرتها بقربك والحديث معك وقد شعرت بها أحيانا عقلا لعقل وروحا لروح .. أنا أعرف بجلاء ما أشعر به نحوك ، وإنه ليس الحب الجسدي فحسب وإنما مجرد كوني مجرد سعيد معك ... بصرف النظر عن الحب فإني شغوف بك كما لم أشغف قط من قبل بأي أحد أو أي شيء في الدنيا . كم ضحكنا بشأن روعتك لكنك لا تعرفين إلى أي درجة أنت رائعة، وهذا يؤرقني جدا، وهذا يقلقني الآن ويمزقني أحيانا- إذ أنني لا أريد منك الزواج بي -على كثرة ما أحبك- إذا ظننت أن ذلك سيجلب لك الشقاء ".
أخيرا ،أنقل بعضا من رسالة الانتحار المشهورة التي تركتها فرجينيا لزوجها ليونارد وتظن فيها أنها ستجن مجددا ولن تشفى ،وتقول أيضا:" أيها الأعز.. أشعر أننا لا نستطيع أن نعاني مجددا من تلك الأوقات الفظيعة... لا أستطيع المقاومة بعد الآن ...إنني مدينة بسعادتي كلها لك ،كنت صبورا معي كل الصبر وكنت طيبا على نحو لا يصدق... لقد زايلني كل شيئ إلا الثقة بطيبتك، لا أستطيع الاستمرار في إفساد حياتك بعد الآن،، لا أظن أن هناك شخصين يمكنهما أن يكونا أسعد مما كنا".
الكاتب هو ابن أخت فرجينيا ،وقد لا أوافق جميع تحليلاته حول حالتها لأنها لا تستند إلى أسس علمية وهذا غير مستغرب لأن الكتاب نشر سنة 1983 ولم تكن .الأسس العلمية للاكتئاب واضحة كفاية،وإني أشفق على المسكينة فرجينيا حيث ما وجدت المساعدة الكافية من أطباء عصرها
،إلى أن ما يفرح الفؤاد قصة الزوجين فرجينيا وليوناردو ..ليوناردو الذي كان مثالا للزوج الصبور المحب التي ماكان لها أن تستبدله بآخر، وكانا يليقان ببعضهما لأنهما كانا يريدان "عقلا" ليتزوجاه، وهو أسمى ما قد يتفق عليه اثنان.
يقول في رسالة لها يطلب فيها الموافقة على طلبه للزواج :" لقد كنتِ بالضبط كما عهدتك ولو لم أكن أحبك قبلا لأحببتك الآن ،وليس الأمر لأنك حسناء جدا -وإن كان هذا بالطبع سببا كبيرا ويجب أن يكون كذلك- ولا هو لأنني أحبك، كلا ليس الأمر مجرد هذا.. إنه عقلك وشخصيتك - لم أعرف قط من هو مثلك في هذا- فهل تصدقين؟... أنا واثق الآن بأنه -وبصرف النظر عن كوني أحب - سيكون من الجدير بي المغامرة بكل شيء للزواج منك...يا إلهي ،أنا أرى مخاطرةً في الزواج من أي أحد، خاصة من قبلي ؛فأنا أناني ،غيور، قاس، شهواني، كذاب وربما أسوأ ، وقد قلت لنفسي مرارا وتكرارا أنني لن أتزوج من أية امرأة بسبب هذا ؛ولأني بالدرجة الأولى لا أستطيع على ما أظن أن أسيطر على مشاعري مع امرأة أدنى مني وسيؤدي نقصها واستسلامها إلى إلهاب الغضب فيّ بالتدريج... ولأنك لست هذه المرأة فإن المخاطرة تقل كثيرا جدا.. قد تكونين أنت أيضا مغرورة ،أنانية ، غير صادقة كما تقولين عن نفسك، لكن هذه ليست شيئا بالمقارنة مع صفاتك الأخرى ،الروعة، الذكاء، الفطنة، الجمال، الصراحة، وعلى أي حال أيضا فإننا على مودة أحدنا بالآخر ونحب الأشياء نفسها والأشخاص ذاتهم ،وكلانا ذكي والأهم من هذا كله أننا نفهم واقع الأمور التي هي مهمة لنا".
ويضيف في رسالة أخرى:"... يا إلهي السعادة التي شعرتها بقربك والحديث معك وقد شعرت بها أحيانا عقلا لعقل وروحا لروح .. أنا أعرف بجلاء ما أشعر به نحوك ، وإنه ليس الحب الجسدي فحسب وإنما مجرد كوني مجرد سعيد معك ... بصرف النظر عن الحب فإني شغوف بك كما لم أشغف قط من قبل بأي أحد أو أي شيء في الدنيا . كم ضحكنا بشأن روعتك لكنك لا تعرفين إلى أي درجة أنت رائعة، وهذا يؤرقني جدا، وهذا يقلقني الآن ويمزقني أحيانا- إذ أنني لا أريد منك الزواج بي -على كثرة ما أحبك- إذا ظننت أن ذلك سيجلب لك الشقاء ".
أخيرا ،أنقل بعضا من رسالة الانتحار المشهورة التي تركتها فرجينيا لزوجها ليونارد وتظن فيها أنها ستجن مجددا ولن تشفى ،وتقول أيضا:" أيها الأعز.. أشعر أننا لا نستطيع أن نعاني مجددا من تلك الأوقات الفظيعة... لا أستطيع المقاومة بعد الآن ...إنني مدينة بسعادتي كلها لك ،كنت صبورا معي كل الصبر وكنت طيبا على نحو لا يصدق... لقد زايلني كل شيئ إلا الثقة بطيبتك، لا أستطيع الاستمرار في إفساد حياتك بعد الآن،، لا أظن أن هناك شخصين يمكنهما أن يكونا أسعد مما كنا".
October 31, 2011
I was expecting this book to be kind of dry, and slow going, but was pleasantly surprised at how exciting, readable and just plain fun it was most of the time! (Other times it could be very sad, but it was never boring).
What did I learn from this book? Where to start?! Probably the most surprising (and also the funniest) thing I found out in this book was that, as a young woman, Virginia participated in something called the which involved a group of people (her, her brother and a couple of friends) dressing up in robes and fake beards pretending to be delegates from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and asking for a tour of the warship , which was the British Royal Navy's flagship, and represented such a huge advance in naval technology that it was kept under the tightest security, and the strictest secrecy, that existed at the time (which was not a whole lot, considering how easily this bunch of costumed young gentlepersons were able to bluff their way aboard!). The best part of this, for me, was the "Abyssinian" language the hoaxers spoke: most of them were classically educated, but the closest any of them got to knowing any African languages was knowing a few random words of Swahili, so they mostly "conversed" with one another by reciting scrambled-up Greek and Latin tags, with a little Swahili (and a lot of gibberish) mixed in for spice.
There were a lot of other interesting tidbits scattered throughout the book; most of the ones I thought were the most interesting also underscored ways in which the period in which Virginia lived was very, very different from our own time. There's a sense that death is never far away in her world; throughout her life, she loses people who are close to her, sometimes very young and sometimes very suddenly. When she was in her early 20s, she lost her older brother to disease (typhoid, I think) while they were vacationing in Greece; shortly before that she had lost her father; she had lost her mother and half-sister when she was in her teens; when she was older and an established author, her friend/rival Katherine Mansfield, who was a few years younger than Virginia, died of tuberculosis; as she entered middle age she lost two close friends, Roger Fry, whose biography she wrote, and Lytton Strachey, and after that her sister, Vanessa, lost her beloved older son in the Spanish Civil War. Virginia was Vanessa's main support during her mourning, which was impressive considering Virginia's own recurring bouts of mental illness. A person living a life similar to Virginia Woolf's today --- a life of privilege, within a rich, industrialized country --- would probably not have such an intimate acquaintance with death.
Another thing that astonished me about her life, and the extent to which the world she knew differed from the world I know, was her total lack of formal education. Again, this was a woman from a well-to-do, educated family, who had never been to school! Her father tutored her and her sister at home, giving her a pretty good grounding in English literature and the classics but leaving both girls completely ignorant of mathematics. Virginia, the book says, had to count on her fingers all her life! That astounds me, just as it would to read that some titan of science, like Niels Bohr or Nikola Tesla or Robert Boyle or Marie Curie, could not read without moving his or her lips. You gain a new level of sppreciation for the points Virginia makes in A Room of One's Own about the need for equal education for women.
Finally, it was really interesting to read about the literary, artistic and countercultural (an anachronistic term that I think is nevertheless apt) group of people with whom Virginia worked and socialized for most of her lifetime. They were called the , after the neighborhood in London where they all lived. I really liked the way Quentin Bell (Vanessa's younger son and Virginia's nephew) makes all these personalities come alive, and how well he showed the varying degrees of intimacy between the various groups members.
What I am trying to say is that this is an incredibly engaging, lively book that I think could be equally appealing to the longtime fan of Virginia Woolf, who might gain a deeper appreciation for certain aspects of her writing, or the more casual fan, in whom this book might ignite a deeper interest, and the person who has not read any Woolf but wants to know more about her. To this last reader, this book might serve as a sort of introduction or companion to her works, which can be difficult.
What did I learn from this book? Where to start?! Probably the most surprising (and also the funniest) thing I found out in this book was that, as a young woman, Virginia participated in something called the which involved a group of people (her, her brother and a couple of friends) dressing up in robes and fake beards pretending to be delegates from Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and asking for a tour of the warship , which was the British Royal Navy's flagship, and represented such a huge advance in naval technology that it was kept under the tightest security, and the strictest secrecy, that existed at the time (which was not a whole lot, considering how easily this bunch of costumed young gentlepersons were able to bluff their way aboard!). The best part of this, for me, was the "Abyssinian" language the hoaxers spoke: most of them were classically educated, but the closest any of them got to knowing any African languages was knowing a few random words of Swahili, so they mostly "conversed" with one another by reciting scrambled-up Greek and Latin tags, with a little Swahili (and a lot of gibberish) mixed in for spice.
There were a lot of other interesting tidbits scattered throughout the book; most of the ones I thought were the most interesting also underscored ways in which the period in which Virginia lived was very, very different from our own time. There's a sense that death is never far away in her world; throughout her life, she loses people who are close to her, sometimes very young and sometimes very suddenly. When she was in her early 20s, she lost her older brother to disease (typhoid, I think) while they were vacationing in Greece; shortly before that she had lost her father; she had lost her mother and half-sister when she was in her teens; when she was older and an established author, her friend/rival Katherine Mansfield, who was a few years younger than Virginia, died of tuberculosis; as she entered middle age she lost two close friends, Roger Fry, whose biography she wrote, and Lytton Strachey, and after that her sister, Vanessa, lost her beloved older son in the Spanish Civil War. Virginia was Vanessa's main support during her mourning, which was impressive considering Virginia's own recurring bouts of mental illness. A person living a life similar to Virginia Woolf's today --- a life of privilege, within a rich, industrialized country --- would probably not have such an intimate acquaintance with death.
Another thing that astonished me about her life, and the extent to which the world she knew differed from the world I know, was her total lack of formal education. Again, this was a woman from a well-to-do, educated family, who had never been to school! Her father tutored her and her sister at home, giving her a pretty good grounding in English literature and the classics but leaving both girls completely ignorant of mathematics. Virginia, the book says, had to count on her fingers all her life! That astounds me, just as it would to read that some titan of science, like Niels Bohr or Nikola Tesla or Robert Boyle or Marie Curie, could not read without moving his or her lips. You gain a new level of sppreciation for the points Virginia makes in A Room of One's Own about the need for equal education for women.
Finally, it was really interesting to read about the literary, artistic and countercultural (an anachronistic term that I think is nevertheless apt) group of people with whom Virginia worked and socialized for most of her lifetime. They were called the , after the neighborhood in London where they all lived. I really liked the way Quentin Bell (Vanessa's younger son and Virginia's nephew) makes all these personalities come alive, and how well he showed the varying degrees of intimacy between the various groups members.
What I am trying to say is that this is an incredibly engaging, lively book that I think could be equally appealing to the longtime fan of Virginia Woolf, who might gain a deeper appreciation for certain aspects of her writing, or the more casual fan, in whom this book might ignite a deeper interest, and the person who has not read any Woolf but wants to know more about her. To this last reader, this book might serve as a sort of introduction or companion to her works, which can be difficult.
September 22, 2016
4.75
This was a fabulous and intimate look into Virginia Woolf's life. She is the first author I've been so interested in, that I've wanted to know as much as I can find out about her life. There wasn't a boring bone in her body. I continue to yearn for more, and have Vol II waiting on my shelf.
I found Bell's writing to be quite easy, it feels effortless, and yet thoroughly engaging.
This was a fabulous and intimate look into Virginia Woolf's life. She is the first author I've been so interested in, that I've wanted to know as much as I can find out about her life. There wasn't a boring bone in her body. I continue to yearn for more, and have Vol II waiting on my shelf.
I found Bell's writing to be quite easy, it feels effortless, and yet thoroughly engaging.
January 18, 2021
Cieszę się, ze po latach znowu udało mi się położyć łapska na tej biografii, chociaż po przeczytaniu kilku recenzji na GR podchodziłam do niej z małym strachem, że może ja coś źle zapamiętałam i że ona rzeczywiście w ciągu ostatnich lat dramatycznie się zdezaktualizowała.
Zarzuca się tu Bellowi, że według niego Virginia kłamała i przesadzała, gdy mówiła o byciu molestowaną seksualnie przez swojego brata. Tymczasem to Bell po raz pierwszy nazywa rzecz po imieniu i wręcz stwierdza, że zachowanie jej brata prawdopodobnie pogłębiło jej traumę po śmierci matki, a w konsekwencji jej chorobę psychiczną. To, czego nastoletnie Virginia i Vanessa nie potrafiły nazwać, ale co je brzydziło, zostało jasno i żywo opisane w niniejszej biografii przez Quentina Bella.
Ani razu nie usprawiedliwiał Georga, ani też nie umniejszał zarzutów czy odczuć obu sióstr; podaje też źródła od innych osób, które były świadkiem jego obrzydliwego zachowania, a dalej, na podstawie jednego listu, wnioskuje, że nie tylko George je molestował, ale i drugi przyrodni brat - Gerald.
Jednoznacznie stwierdza, że:
Pierwsze doświadczenie bycia kochaną może być urzekające, smutne, żenujące, czy nawet nudne; ale nie powinno być obrzydliwe. Eros nadleciał na skrzydłach nietoperza, objawił się jako postać ckliwej, kazirodczej seksualności. Virginia miała poczucie, że George zniszczył jej życie jeszcze zanim się zaczęło. Z natury nieśmiała w sprawach płci, od tego czasu zastygła w pozycji defensywnej paniki.�
Przeczytałam większość biografii i semi-biografii o Virginii Woolf dostępnych na polskim rynku i nadal uważam, że ta jest najlepsza, najbardziej szczegółowa, złożona, bogata i informatywna. Moja ocena się nie zmienia.
Ani razu nie usprawiedliwiał Georga, ani też nie umniejszał zarzutów czy odczuć obu sióstr; podaje też źródła od innych osób, które były świadkiem jego obrzydliwego zachowania, a dalej, na podstawie jednego listu, wnioskuje, że nie tylko George je molestował, ale i drugi przyrodni brat - Gerald.
Jednoznacznie stwierdza, że:
Pierwsze doświadczenie bycia kochaną może być urzekające, smutne, żenujące, czy nawet nudne; ale nie powinno być obrzydliwe. Eros nadleciał na skrzydłach nietoperza, objawił się jako postać ckliwej, kazirodczej seksualności. Virginia miała poczucie, że George zniszczył jej życie jeszcze zanim się zaczęło. Z natury nieśmiała w sprawach płci, od tego czasu zastygła w pozycji defensywnej paniki.�
Przeczytałam większość biografii i semi-biografii o Virginii Woolf dostępnych na polskim rynku i nadal uważam, że ta jest najlepsza, najbardziej szczegółowa, złożona, bogata i informatywna. Moja ocena się nie zmienia.
December 26, 2016
Text, not insignificant, which does its part to smooth those gaps of unfamiliarities that are likely present in the manner of non-illumined visage. Ironically and even with its volume, there is little added to the cracked portraiture by its presence. This does not dilute it altogether, but a necessary linearity and occasional elemental restraint does. This is at once a biographical work, scientifically drawn; as examining its exhibit with imagination + skill. Artist is handled as is - facts and letters make an historic and time-tempered account, insofar as that can be done when analysing creatives in second-person. The biography used a metallic mirror to the subject which, not unlike photography, is vaguely telling but can do little without real motion or floridity. Mind as science created thin bold hand craft which cannot be adjacently dissected or arranged unless with access-blood and insight. Little can change an impossible nature, but realistic foots were placed in the motion lain earth. With fragments can be compounded ideas. If you have read a Woolf you needn’t consume a facilitative word-mass about said individual; little will be added to any pre-existing thoughts or knowledge obtained from raw sources. A projection could well be posited and it would more than necessary be not dissimilar to that which is apparently present; you will be in possession already of ‘facts� though ultimately it is the artists� predilection for craft that blankets any later analyses. It is unlikely that this would be challenged by the author, an author or this as with all great construct there must be not malleable uniqueness. But this is altogether of material good + can be read (it can).
February 9, 2013
Despite being a faithful accounting of Woolf’s life with much useful information for Virginia Woolf fans, I did not get what I wanted most from Quentin Bell’s book. After reading Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, I was fascinated by the observant, insightful mind that so clearly saw into itself and the minds of others to create such nuanced and genuine characters. The person I found in this biography was a self-centered, difficult and periodically psychotic woman whose friends all recognized her brilliance, but unfortunately that brilliance didn’t come through to me except for Bell to tell me so. In other words Bell failed to do what Woolf does, create an image of a person that reveals her nature without the author having to spell it out for me.
Probably I expect too much. It is unfair to compare Quentin Bell to Virginia Woolf. Perhaps we have to look at great art and literature separately from its creators. Just as it is not evident from looking at someone’s body, what kind of mind they have, it may not be possible to look at someone’s mind and determine what kind of art they can create, the art being an emergent property distinct from the mind that created it, just as the mind is from the body.
Probably I expect too much. It is unfair to compare Quentin Bell to Virginia Woolf. Perhaps we have to look at great art and literature separately from its creators. Just as it is not evident from looking at someone’s body, what kind of mind they have, it may not be possible to look at someone’s mind and determine what kind of art they can create, the art being an emergent property distinct from the mind that created it, just as the mind is from the body.
March 17, 2017
A must read for those interested in Virginia Woolf. Very detailed and well written. The book is a history of Virginia Woolf. A lot has been written about Virginia Woolf's life and her works; there is no need to add anything here. The most interesting thing about this biography was the voice of the writer: Quentin Bell who was Virginia's nephew. The assumptions he makes, and the way he judges things are foreign to me, and I think it gives an idea of how things must have been for the Bloomsbury types.
June 8, 2021
I took my time with this one, solely because I wanted to. Getting to know Virginia more and more only gave me the pleasure that I didn’t know I very much needed. While I couldn’t stop reading more about her at times, the other times it was hard to go through. I cheered for her as often as I got depressed with her.
The book helps experiencing Virginia’s life in ways unknown to others. I don’t think that Bell made her aunt a hero and he certainly didn’t glorify her. Virginia Woolf was one of the brightest women of her time and indeed a hero to so many of us, but she was also real, she lived, and struggled. She was never free of "those horrible voices."
Bell described her saying: "In a sense then she was precocious and old for her years, but in another way she was still very much a child and a very timid child at that" and "her social gaffers were painful to her (...) she hated pouring out tea and talking like a lady". "She was terried of the world, terrified of exposing herself (�) she for her part really more than half wanted to be invisible. The whole business of clothes was a nightmare to her; and she was happiest when she could forget that anyone looked at her". � I found some pieces of my soul in her.
When I moved on to the part to find out; "Hitherto men, as lovers, seem to have played no role at all in her imagination. There is nothing in her letters or diaries to suggest that any man had inspired her with the slightest erotic excitement. All her passions, had jealousies and tenderness are kept for her own sex", then of course, I wanted to discover Vita more. Because Vita, Virginia felt, was invented for her own pleasure. This was the point of the book where I thought it went a bit awkward. To say that Vita was the most important person in Virginia’s life along with her sister Vanessa and her husband Leonard, then to give the impression of “maybe they were just good friends� and moving onto the stories of the people who maybe was the least important in her life didn’t sit right with me. “Vita was very much in love with Virginia� but on her side “Virginia felt as a lover feels� only while we all now have the proof of the lengths that they went together. He carefully interrupted and dampened it. I do believe that he did his best to make no attempt to conceal Virginia’s sexuality, but the obvious reason he wrote about this the way he did was because he had an abiding love for Leonard.
I found two facts for me as the most painful part of the book. One was to realize that she was fully aware of her mental illness. Though she also strongly resisted, she did her best to cope with sorrow and use this to shape her art. The other was how cruelty of the war affected them. Their houses were bombed twice, Leonard was Jewish and they were both aware of what Hitler was doing to the them. I did not know that right before her death, Leonard was convinced that the Nazis would seize them and they had the cyanide pills ready. It seems to have given her the final push..
It is hard to not be personally affected by the life of undoubtedly one of the most important literary figures in history and personally, a true hero of mine and someone who I hold very close to my heart.
Who can blame me for wanting more?
The book helps experiencing Virginia’s life in ways unknown to others. I don’t think that Bell made her aunt a hero and he certainly didn’t glorify her. Virginia Woolf was one of the brightest women of her time and indeed a hero to so many of us, but she was also real, she lived, and struggled. She was never free of "those horrible voices."
Bell described her saying: "In a sense then she was precocious and old for her years, but in another way she was still very much a child and a very timid child at that" and "her social gaffers were painful to her (...) she hated pouring out tea and talking like a lady". "She was terried of the world, terrified of exposing herself (�) she for her part really more than half wanted to be invisible. The whole business of clothes was a nightmare to her; and she was happiest when she could forget that anyone looked at her". � I found some pieces of my soul in her.
When I moved on to the part to find out; "Hitherto men, as lovers, seem to have played no role at all in her imagination. There is nothing in her letters or diaries to suggest that any man had inspired her with the slightest erotic excitement. All her passions, had jealousies and tenderness are kept for her own sex", then of course, I wanted to discover Vita more. Because Vita, Virginia felt, was invented for her own pleasure. This was the point of the book where I thought it went a bit awkward. To say that Vita was the most important person in Virginia’s life along with her sister Vanessa and her husband Leonard, then to give the impression of “maybe they were just good friends� and moving onto the stories of the people who maybe was the least important in her life didn’t sit right with me. “Vita was very much in love with Virginia� but on her side “Virginia felt as a lover feels� only while we all now have the proof of the lengths that they went together. He carefully interrupted and dampened it. I do believe that he did his best to make no attempt to conceal Virginia’s sexuality, but the obvious reason he wrote about this the way he did was because he had an abiding love for Leonard.
I found two facts for me as the most painful part of the book. One was to realize that she was fully aware of her mental illness. Though she also strongly resisted, she did her best to cope with sorrow and use this to shape her art. The other was how cruelty of the war affected them. Their houses were bombed twice, Leonard was Jewish and they were both aware of what Hitler was doing to the them. I did not know that right before her death, Leonard was convinced that the Nazis would seize them and they had the cyanide pills ready. It seems to have given her the final push..
It is hard to not be personally affected by the life of undoubtedly one of the most important literary figures in history and personally, a true hero of mine and someone who I hold very close to my heart.
Who can blame me for wanting more?
April 3, 2024
I definitely understand why some reviewers say you should already be a Virginia Woolf stan to enjoy this book to its fullest. That being said, it worked for me. Bell’s biography is a loving and enlightening account of Woolf’s family background and younger years, which I didn’t know as much about. I will definitely be returning to all of the quotations and finely detailed accounts of Woolf and co’s exploits and correspondence.
April 17, 2019
This is the first biography I've ever read and I really liked it. I'm sure it's outdated, and perhaps Hermione Lee's biography is better, but I loved this book. It felt like I got to know Virginia personally and like I was there experiencing her life with her. I'm also excited to read her work knowing so much more about her now. Would definitely recommend if you're a fan of Woolf.
August 4, 2008
Appreciated this book so much that I took my two very young children to Rodmell for the summer. We walked her walks, spent time in her garden and toured the now historic house. With a life-long friend, Sylvia, wandered down the lane to river, sad yet understanding her decision. Seminal biography. I'm willing to consider re-reading it.
July 1, 2009
I could not finish this book. Quentin Bell is the mumbling, english uncle I never wanted or could understand. He goes on and on and I know he is saying something important but he has that damn accent and I am pissed he is taking so long to just tell me the story.
December 24, 2012
فرجينيا وولف
سيرة حياة _ تأليف كوينتين بيل
ترجمة : عطا عبد الوهاب
إصدار الدار العربية للدراسات والنشر
سيرة حياة _ تأليف كوينتين بيل
ترجمة : عطا عبد الوهاب
إصدار الدار العربية للدراسات والنشر
August 6, 2014
Dopo anni di silenzio critico, in cui di Virginia Woolf appariva solo qualche sporadico saggio, o qualche pubblicazione sconnessa, che non potevano rendere giustizia alla forza di un’opera che va letta nel sua interezza e nel suo sviluppo, negli ultimi anni il mondo dell’editoria sembra aver ritrovato vivo interesse per la complessa figura di questa intellettuale difficile e scomoda.
Rallegra il fatto che anche in Italia negli ultimi tempi alcune case editrici abbiano dedicato uno spazio sempre maggiore alla sua riscoperta, pubblicando opere di estremo intereresse.
In coincidenza con l’anniversario dei settant’anni dalla scomparsa della scrittrice, esce per la collana “La tartaruga� del gruppo Baldini Castoldi Dalai (casa editrice milanese meritevole di aver pubblicato negli ultimi anni cinque opere critico-biografiche) “Virginia Woolf, mia zia�, la biografia più completa della scrittrice, composta dal nipote Quentin Bell, opera preziosa per l’appassionato, che mancava sui nostri scaffali dal 1974. Una scrittura semplice e lineare, una biografia che si legge come un romanzo, realizzata con la puntigliosità e l’attenzione al dettaglio del biografo, con l’affetto e il trasporto del vincolo di sangue, con la devozione dell’amante della prosa d’arte. Minimum fax propone invece il tascabile di quel “Diario di una scrittrice�, già pubblicato nel 2009 nella preziosa collana “I quindici�, che raccoglie la selezione tratta dai diari di Virginia curata dal marito Leonard Woolf e data alle stampe nel 1953, dodici anni dopo che la scrittrice si tolse la vita annegandosi nel fiume Ouse. Le due opere possono coinvolgersi e colmarsi vicendevolmente essendo per molti aspetti complementari. Infatti, laddove Bell privilegia gli aspetti intimi e personali della donna Virginia proponendo con chiarezza e ricchezza di fonti una serie importante di vicissitudini esistenziali legate soprattutto alla complessità delle relazioni familiari e ad eventi dolorosi come la morti del fratello Toby, del padre Leslie e del suo migliore amico Lytton Strachey, i Diari si concentrano maggiormente su tutto ciò che riguarda lo scrivere e sulla meticolosa e ansiosa attività di romanziera e critica letteraria della scrittrice londinese.
D’altra parte, distinguere la vita della scrittrice Virginia Woolf dalla vita della donna Virginia Woolf è impresa alquanto ardua. Le sue storie sono infatti permeate di un così intenso, per quanto trasfigurato, autobiografismo ed i luoghi della sua vita rivivono in modo diffuso nelle sue opere come nel caso del romanzo capolavoro “Gita al faro�, dove Virginia rievoca le figure del padre, della madre e dei fratelli durante le loro vacanze nell’incantata casa in Cornovaglia, sulle rive dell’Oceano.
Virginia e il suo mondo.
I luoghi e le esperienze furono dunque essenziali alla sua scrittura e, nonostante le violente crisi depressive che la tenevano per lunghi periodi lontana dal resto del mondo e che la portarono al tragico epilogo della sua esistenza, la Woolf non fu un’artista solitaria e appartata ma creò attorno a se una rete di amicizie e legami che nemmeno la malattia poté recidere.
Alla morte dei genitori si trasferì con i fratelli da Hyde Park Gate a Gordon Square, nel quartiere londinese di Bloomsbury. In questi anni, dal 1905 circa fino all’avvento della II guerra mondiale, la spaziosa casa di Gordon Square diventò il centro del famoso circolo intellettuale denominato Gruppo di Bloomsbury in cui i membri erano soliti riunirsi negli incontri del giovedì sera. Uno dei fondatori fu Thoby, l’amato fratello di Virginia, che insieme alla sorella Vanessa iniziò a prendere parte attivamente alle riunioni del gruppo e ne divenne membro centrale. Restie a frequentare l’agiata classe borghese londinese, dalla cui stupidità e superficialità si sentivano nauseate e escluse (se ne ha un affresco vivissimo in “Mrs Dolloway�), le due sorelle trovavano in quegli incontri tanto stimolanti il luogo dove il loro intelletto vivo e la loro sensibilità artistica potessero essere compresi e valorizzati. Ne facevano parte Stratchey Lytton e Clive Bell, scrittori e mentori letterari per Virginia, Leonard Woolf, il suo futuro marito, il grande economista J.M.Keynes, il pittore Duncan Grant. Gli appartenenti erano anticonformisti e spregiudicati, criticavano le restrizioni del periodo Vittoriano in cui erano stati educati, e celebravano l’affrancamento e la libertà dalle limitazioni sociali, religiose e sessuali delle epoche precedenti. Il fatto che Virginia e Vanessa, due donne, trascorressero le loro serate in compagnia di uomini dai costumi strambi e deprecabili, convivessero poi più tardi con loro in appartamenti misti e in tenute di campagna, tardassero il loro debutto in società, non curassero il loro vestiario, erano atteggiamenti che la società perbenista non poteva tollerare. Virginia fu anche un'attivista all'interno dei movimenti femministi per il suffragio delle donne e le sue idee di emancipazione e le sue analisi sulla condizione femminile si ritrovano spesso nelle sue opere. “In A Room Of One's Own� (1929) tratta il tema della discriminazione femminile, mentre in “Three Guineas� (1938) si occupa del ruolo dominante dell'uomo nella società a lei contemporanea. Il rapporto con la donna viene visto anche sul piano sentimentale ed in questo contesto si inserisce la presunta storia d'amore fra Virginia e la sua amica Vita Sackville-West, una relazione che ispira la scrittrice nella stesura del romanzo “Orlando�.
Ma la Woolf fu la più grande outsider della letteratura inglese post-vittoriana anche dal punto di vista dello stile narrativo che, sulla scia dell’esperienza del contemporaneo James Joyce, contribuisce a rivoluzionare abbandonando gli schemi tradizionali a favore di un percorso narrativo che privilegia il monologo interiore al fine di esprimere il flusso di coscienza dei suoi personaggi.
Colta, intelligente, ironica, dissacrante, spregiudicata e controcorrente.
I suoi meravigliosi e indimenticabili personaggi non avrebbero potuto nascere che in un consesso all’altezza della sua folle particolarità.
Rallegra il fatto che anche in Italia negli ultimi tempi alcune case editrici abbiano dedicato uno spazio sempre maggiore alla sua riscoperta, pubblicando opere di estremo intereresse.
In coincidenza con l’anniversario dei settant’anni dalla scomparsa della scrittrice, esce per la collana “La tartaruga� del gruppo Baldini Castoldi Dalai (casa editrice milanese meritevole di aver pubblicato negli ultimi anni cinque opere critico-biografiche) “Virginia Woolf, mia zia�, la biografia più completa della scrittrice, composta dal nipote Quentin Bell, opera preziosa per l’appassionato, che mancava sui nostri scaffali dal 1974. Una scrittura semplice e lineare, una biografia che si legge come un romanzo, realizzata con la puntigliosità e l’attenzione al dettaglio del biografo, con l’affetto e il trasporto del vincolo di sangue, con la devozione dell’amante della prosa d’arte. Minimum fax propone invece il tascabile di quel “Diario di una scrittrice�, già pubblicato nel 2009 nella preziosa collana “I quindici�, che raccoglie la selezione tratta dai diari di Virginia curata dal marito Leonard Woolf e data alle stampe nel 1953, dodici anni dopo che la scrittrice si tolse la vita annegandosi nel fiume Ouse. Le due opere possono coinvolgersi e colmarsi vicendevolmente essendo per molti aspetti complementari. Infatti, laddove Bell privilegia gli aspetti intimi e personali della donna Virginia proponendo con chiarezza e ricchezza di fonti una serie importante di vicissitudini esistenziali legate soprattutto alla complessità delle relazioni familiari e ad eventi dolorosi come la morti del fratello Toby, del padre Leslie e del suo migliore amico Lytton Strachey, i Diari si concentrano maggiormente su tutto ciò che riguarda lo scrivere e sulla meticolosa e ansiosa attività di romanziera e critica letteraria della scrittrice londinese.
D’altra parte, distinguere la vita della scrittrice Virginia Woolf dalla vita della donna Virginia Woolf è impresa alquanto ardua. Le sue storie sono infatti permeate di un così intenso, per quanto trasfigurato, autobiografismo ed i luoghi della sua vita rivivono in modo diffuso nelle sue opere come nel caso del romanzo capolavoro “Gita al faro�, dove Virginia rievoca le figure del padre, della madre e dei fratelli durante le loro vacanze nell’incantata casa in Cornovaglia, sulle rive dell’Oceano.
Virginia e il suo mondo.
I luoghi e le esperienze furono dunque essenziali alla sua scrittura e, nonostante le violente crisi depressive che la tenevano per lunghi periodi lontana dal resto del mondo e che la portarono al tragico epilogo della sua esistenza, la Woolf non fu un’artista solitaria e appartata ma creò attorno a se una rete di amicizie e legami che nemmeno la malattia poté recidere.
Alla morte dei genitori si trasferì con i fratelli da Hyde Park Gate a Gordon Square, nel quartiere londinese di Bloomsbury. In questi anni, dal 1905 circa fino all’avvento della II guerra mondiale, la spaziosa casa di Gordon Square diventò il centro del famoso circolo intellettuale denominato Gruppo di Bloomsbury in cui i membri erano soliti riunirsi negli incontri del giovedì sera. Uno dei fondatori fu Thoby, l’amato fratello di Virginia, che insieme alla sorella Vanessa iniziò a prendere parte attivamente alle riunioni del gruppo e ne divenne membro centrale. Restie a frequentare l’agiata classe borghese londinese, dalla cui stupidità e superficialità si sentivano nauseate e escluse (se ne ha un affresco vivissimo in “Mrs Dolloway�), le due sorelle trovavano in quegli incontri tanto stimolanti il luogo dove il loro intelletto vivo e la loro sensibilità artistica potessero essere compresi e valorizzati. Ne facevano parte Stratchey Lytton e Clive Bell, scrittori e mentori letterari per Virginia, Leonard Woolf, il suo futuro marito, il grande economista J.M.Keynes, il pittore Duncan Grant. Gli appartenenti erano anticonformisti e spregiudicati, criticavano le restrizioni del periodo Vittoriano in cui erano stati educati, e celebravano l’affrancamento e la libertà dalle limitazioni sociali, religiose e sessuali delle epoche precedenti. Il fatto che Virginia e Vanessa, due donne, trascorressero le loro serate in compagnia di uomini dai costumi strambi e deprecabili, convivessero poi più tardi con loro in appartamenti misti e in tenute di campagna, tardassero il loro debutto in società, non curassero il loro vestiario, erano atteggiamenti che la società perbenista non poteva tollerare. Virginia fu anche un'attivista all'interno dei movimenti femministi per il suffragio delle donne e le sue idee di emancipazione e le sue analisi sulla condizione femminile si ritrovano spesso nelle sue opere. “In A Room Of One's Own� (1929) tratta il tema della discriminazione femminile, mentre in “Three Guineas� (1938) si occupa del ruolo dominante dell'uomo nella società a lei contemporanea. Il rapporto con la donna viene visto anche sul piano sentimentale ed in questo contesto si inserisce la presunta storia d'amore fra Virginia e la sua amica Vita Sackville-West, una relazione che ispira la scrittrice nella stesura del romanzo “Orlando�.
Ma la Woolf fu la più grande outsider della letteratura inglese post-vittoriana anche dal punto di vista dello stile narrativo che, sulla scia dell’esperienza del contemporaneo James Joyce, contribuisce a rivoluzionare abbandonando gli schemi tradizionali a favore di un percorso narrativo che privilegia il monologo interiore al fine di esprimere il flusso di coscienza dei suoi personaggi.
Colta, intelligente, ironica, dissacrante, spregiudicata e controcorrente.
I suoi meravigliosi e indimenticabili personaggi non avrebbero potuto nascere che in un consesso all’altezza della sua folle particolarità.
May 29, 2019
Come si può non amare questo libro? Certo non è scritto in modo eccelso, talvolta pare quasi che Quentin si perda un po'. Ma è una miniera di informazioni incredibile. È un viaggio. Ed è questo, per me, il suo grande, immenso valore.
February 7, 2025
Pobre Virginia, su sobrino era homófobo.
En general, una biografía muy amena.
En general, una biografía muy amena.
December 21, 2022
Una biografia meravellosa escrita d’una manera excelent. Supòs que et fa endinsar-te d’una manera més profunda degut a sa proximitat den Quentin a na Virginia. Incluo fragments de cartes d’ella i els seus amics i diaris. No hi ha cap capítul avorrit.
August 9, 2016
I don't know that I get on very well with Quentin Bell as an author. His style is quite singular, a little dated maybe, although overall quite readable. He has great insight into his aunt's life, which helps make this an interesting biography, but sometimes I felt he was being a bit circumspect (for instance concerning her relationship with Vita Sackville-West), and indeed points to things that 'still cannot be said'.
The beginning of the book, filling in the family background, I found quite a chore, but things began to improve once he got into his subject. Then, once death and disaster began to strike I found the whole story quite overwhelming. No wonder Virginia Woolf had mental health issues after all the tragedy she experienced from a young age. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes to help lighten the mood, and a touching portrayal of her life with Leonard, but the most moving part of the book has to be the end, and her quite devastating suicide note. This is definitely an essential read for Woolf/Bloomsbury people, even if there are some areas that could have done with more explanation.
The beginning of the book, filling in the family background, I found quite a chore, but things began to improve once he got into his subject. Then, once death and disaster began to strike I found the whole story quite overwhelming. No wonder Virginia Woolf had mental health issues after all the tragedy she experienced from a young age. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes to help lighten the mood, and a touching portrayal of her life with Leonard, but the most moving part of the book has to be the end, and her quite devastating suicide note. This is definitely an essential read for Woolf/Bloomsbury people, even if there are some areas that could have done with more explanation.
August 28, 2019
مطالعه خانم دالاوی مرا به مطالعه این زندگینامه دو جلدی کشاند .شیوه داستان نویسی ویرجینیا وولف که عمدتا بر سیالیت ذهن استوار است نیاز دارد که با شخصیت نویسنده نابغه ان اشنا شویم.
مورگان فاستر یکی از مهمترین نقد ها را به او کرده: ویرجینیا ایده های خود را انتخاب میکند و پردازش می دهد. او در شخصیت پردازی چندان قوی نیست . خواننده در کتابهای او ایمن نیست و لبه پرتگاه قرار دارد.
کتاب با ترجمه ای بسیار روان از زنده یاد سهیلا بسکی به شرح حال زندگی زنی می پردازد که در جامعه ای با سنت های پایدار دوره ویکتوریایی باید هم در خانواده و هم در جامعه بجنگد
و اطلاعات بسیار خوبی از کتابهایش و حالات روحیش در دوره نگارش انها ارائه میدهد و همچنین بیماری عمیق افسردگیش ،تمایلات جنسی اش که به هر دو جنس گرایش داشت (و البته همیشه با طبعی سرد)
در جامعه ای که سخن از گرایشات جنسی بشدت ممنوع بود کتاب ارلاندو او در. باره عشقش به زنی شاعر است بنام ویتا و یا کتاب ”اتاق� از ان خود”ا� محتوا اموزشی دروس فمینیستی در دانشگاههاست
و در سال ۱۹۴۱ زمانی که دریافت بیماری دست از سرش بر نخواهد داشت مرگی خود خواسته را انتخاب کرد در حالی که قبلا به ویتا گفته بود
”قاد� به توصیف ان تجربه نخواهد بود�
مورگان فاستر یکی از مهمترین نقد ها را به او کرده: ویرجینیا ایده های خود را انتخاب میکند و پردازش می دهد. او در شخصیت پردازی چندان قوی نیست . خواننده در کتابهای او ایمن نیست و لبه پرتگاه قرار دارد.
کتاب با ترجمه ای بسیار روان از زنده یاد سهیلا بسکی به شرح حال زندگی زنی می پردازد که در جامعه ای با سنت های پایدار دوره ویکتوریایی باید هم در خانواده و هم در جامعه بجنگد
و اطلاعات بسیار خوبی از کتابهایش و حالات روحیش در دوره نگارش انها ارائه میدهد و همچنین بیماری عمیق افسردگیش ،تمایلات جنسی اش که به هر دو جنس گرایش داشت (و البته همیشه با طبعی سرد)
در جامعه ای که سخن از گرایشات جنسی بشدت ممنوع بود کتاب ارلاندو او در. باره عشقش به زنی شاعر است بنام ویتا و یا کتاب ”اتاق� از ان خود”ا� محتوا اموزشی دروس فمینیستی در دانشگاههاست
و در سال ۱۹۴۱ زمانی که دریافت بیماری دست از سرش بر نخواهد داشت مرگی خود خواسته را انتخاب کرد در حالی که قبلا به ویتا گفته بود
”قاد� به توصیف ان تجربه نخواهد بود�
June 13, 2014
Fascinating insight...however peculiar. You would think a biography written by Virginia's nephew would lend itself to some deeper understanding of this woman and her life. However, one gets the impression while reading this that Mr. Bell cannot be objective and skims and glosses over major themes and events in Virginia's life (her lovers, her female friends, and even her death).
If, however, you are looking to know everything about Bloomsbury group and how each member took their tea - this is for you.
Despite that, I did enjoy the read and am going to read another biographer's take to possibly fill in some of the things I felt were missing from this work.
If, however, you are looking to know everything about Bloomsbury group and how each member took their tea - this is for you.
Despite that, I did enjoy the read and am going to read another biographer's take to possibly fill in some of the things I felt were missing from this work.
May 15, 2018
سيرة فرجينيا وولف
أن تبرز بملامح من البلاغة و الدقة في التعبير و استقلالية فكرية في مرحلة المراهقة ، ثم محاولة إيجاد موقع بين أقلام ذكورية في صحيفة في العشرينيات من القرن الماضي لهي سيرة ذاتية مبهرة دون شك
أمانة و حيادية و دقة بتوثيق يوميات جميع الأطراف المعلنة في كتاب السيرة ، لم تهمل حتى الشخصيات العابرة ممن لها الأثر و التأثير أو لا شيء على حد سواء
سرد مؤرخ منظم يبتدئ من خلفية أجداد آل ستيفن حتى اليوم المفجوع
من يهتم لسيرة صاحبتها سيتفهم ضخامته
.
.
كنت محظوظة بتوفر الكتاب في مكتبة museloungkw ، الكويت
من دار المؤسسة العربية للدراسات والنشر،بيروت
الطبعة الأولى 1993
و بالطبع لا يفوتني جودة و بلاغة المترجم السيد عطا عبدالوهاب
.
أن تبرز بملامح من البلاغة و الدقة في التعبير و استقلالية فكرية في مرحلة المراهقة ، ثم محاولة إيجاد موقع بين أقلام ذكورية في صحيفة في العشرينيات من القرن الماضي لهي سيرة ذاتية مبهرة دون شك
أمانة و حيادية و دقة بتوثيق يوميات جميع الأطراف المعلنة في كتاب السيرة ، لم تهمل حتى الشخصيات العابرة ممن لها الأثر و التأثير أو لا شيء على حد سواء
سرد مؤرخ منظم يبتدئ من خلفية أجداد آل ستيفن حتى اليوم المفجوع
من يهتم لسيرة صاحبتها سيتفهم ضخامته
.
.
كنت محظوظة بتوفر الكتاب في مكتبة museloungkw ، الكويت
من دار المؤسسة العربية للدراسات والنشر،بيروت
الطبعة الأولى 1993
و بالطبع لا يفوتني جودة و بلاغة المترجم السيد عطا عبدالوهاب
.
February 6, 2015
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التجربة التي لن أصفها أبداً
هكذا تحدثت فرجينيا عن إنتحارها
بمثل تلك الكآبه والحسرة
الكتاب أو تلك السيرة
كئيبة ، تفصيلية ، سوداوية
أتعبتني القراءة في حياتها
وأثرت بي نفسياً الكثير من لحظاتها
ماخرجت به من تلك القراءة ( غير الإرهاق النفسي ) هو الفضول لـ قراءة ما أنتجت خصوصاً وأنها أنتجته بكثير من المُعاناة
التجربة التي لن أصفها أبداً
هكذا تحدثت فرجينيا عن إنتحارها
بمثل تلك الكآبه والحسرة
الكتاب أو تلك السيرة
كئيبة ، تفصيلية ، سوداوية
أتعبتني القراءة في حياتها
وأثرت بي نفسياً الكثير من لحظاتها
ماخرجت به من تلك القراءة ( غير الإرهاق النفسي ) هو الفضول لـ قراءة ما أنتجت خصوصاً وأنها أنتجته بكثير من المُعاناة
August 10, 2013
This book changed my perceptions of myself and my cultural values. I confess that I read it straight through one weekend when I was living alone in North Hollywood while I waa studying for my MFA at Cal Arts.
Read
January 5, 2015هل استطاع احد الوصول للنهاية في سيرة فيرجينيا وولف ؟
اريد ان اكملها .. الا انني اشعر وكآنها تجلس معي وانا اقرأ سيرتها
اشعر كما لو كنت اعيش تفاصيل مرضها معها ..
اكتب الرسائل معها .. واتنقل معها
مرهق !
اريد ان اكملها .. الا انني اشعر وكآنها تجلس معي وانا اقرأ سيرتها
اشعر كما لو كنت اعيش تفاصيل مرضها معها ..
اكتب الرسائل معها .. واتنقل معها
مرهق !
February 25, 2012
I am sorely, sorely tempted to give this five stars. Terrifically solid stuff - so well-executed that it is almost perfection.
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