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Fionnuala's Reviews > Flush
Flush
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Fionnuala's review
bookshelves: woolf-reviews, review-may-contain-comic-content, woolf-and-related
May 02, 2015
bookshelves: woolf-reviews, review-may-contain-comic-content, woolf-and-related
..the Victorians loved biographies, especially biographies of eminent people such as kings, queens and other distinguished members of society. Flush is the biography of such an eminent Victorian. Or rather Flush is a parody of a biography of an eminent Victorian. We might even say that Flush is a parody of a parody of a biography of an eminent Victorian because Flush is in fact the biography of a dog. But not just any dog, an Eminent Dog, the pure bred Cocker Spaniel belonging to another eminent Victorian, the poet Elizabeth Barrett who eventually married Eminent Victorian Robert Browning after they’d exchanged an entire volume of love letters; they then went to live in Italy, taking Flush along with them. (view spoiler)
That a dog-lover wrote this biography is clear from the outset. The reader even wonders if the book might have been written by a dog, so marvellously done is the dog point of view: the action revolves entirely around sounds, smells and scamperings. But needless to say, Flush wasn’t written by a dog but by Virginia Woolf who it turns out would have loved to have been a dog. In his biography of his aunt, her nephew Quentin Bell, tells us: Flush is not so much a book by a dog lover as a book by someone who would love to be a dog.
So if we're wondering about the unusual choice of biographical subject, the dog rather than his mistress, Quentin's quote seems to give us the answer. But there is also the parody aspect already mentioned. In 1933, Woolf wrote to a friend: I was so tired after finishing 'The Waves' that I lay in the garden and read the Browning love letters, and the figure of the dog made me laugh so I couldn’t resist making him a Life. I wanted to play a joke on Lytton. Lytton Strachey was Woolf’s long time friend and a rather irreverent biographer himself; his Eminent Victorians is a parody of the serious biographical style so beloved of the Victorians.
So now that we’ve chased our tail sufficiently, we are back where we started. The Victorians loved biographies..
(Doesn't Elizabeth look a bit like a spaniel?) That a dog-lover wrote this biography is clear from the outset. The reader even wonders if the book might have been written by a dog, so marvellously done is the dog point of view: the action revolves entirely around sounds, smells and scamperings. But needless to say, Flush wasn’t written by a dog but by Virginia Woolf who it turns out would have loved to have been a dog. In his biography of his aunt, her nephew Quentin Bell, tells us: Flush is not so much a book by a dog lover as a book by someone who would love to be a dog.
So if we're wondering about the unusual choice of biographical subject, the dog rather than his mistress, Quentin's quote seems to give us the answer. But there is also the parody aspect already mentioned. In 1933, Woolf wrote to a friend: I was so tired after finishing 'The Waves' that I lay in the garden and read the Browning love letters, and the figure of the dog made me laugh so I couldn’t resist making him a Life. I wanted to play a joke on Lytton. Lytton Strachey was Woolf’s long time friend and a rather irreverent biographer himself; his Eminent Victorians is a parody of the serious biographical style so beloved of the Victorians.
So now that we’ve chased our tail sufficiently, we are back where we started. The Victorians loved biographies..
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Reading Progress
May 2, 2015
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Started Reading
May 2, 2015
– Shelved
May 2, 2015
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2.6%
"It is universally admitted that the family from which the subject of this memoir claims descent is one of the greatest antiquity
That tongue in cheek remark is how Woolf begins this biography of Elizabeth Barret Browning's spaniel, Flush. So she's taking a shot at Victorian biographies - and at Jane Austen too?"
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That tongue in cheek remark is how Woolf begins this biography of Elizabeth Barret Browning's spaniel, Flush. So she's taking a shot at Victorian biographies - and at Jane Austen too?"
May 3, 2015
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13.02%
"From such phrases, from the praise or derision in which they were spoken, at the pillar-box or outside the public-house, Flush knew before the summer had passed that there is no equality among dogs: some dogs are high dogs; some are low. Which then was he? No sooner had Flush got home than he examined himself in the looking-glass. Miss Barrett observed him. He was a philosopher, she thought, meditating the..."
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25
May 3, 2015
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39.06%
"In London he could scarcely trot to the pillar-box without meeting some pug-dog, retriever, bulldog, mastiff, collie or one of the seven famous families of the Spaniel tribe. To each he gave a different name, to each a rank..But here in Pisa, though dogs abounded, there were no ranks at all. There were grey dogs, yellow dogs, brindled dogs, spotted dogs but it was impossible to detect a single spaniel among them."
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May 3, 2015
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"He devoured whole bunches of ripe grapes largely because of their purple colour; he chewed and spat out whatever tough relic of goat or macaroni the Italian housewife had thrown from the balcony - goat and macaroni were raucous smells, crimson smells. He followed the swooning sweetness of incense into the violet intricacies of dark cathedrals; and, sniffing, tried to lap the gold on the window-stained tomb."
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May 3, 2015
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"He knew Florence in its marmoreal smoothness and in its gritty and cobbled roughness. Hoary folds of drapery, smooth fingers and feet of stone received the lick of his tongue, the quivers of his shivering snout. Upon the infinitely sensitive pads of his feet he took the clear stamp of proud Latin inscriptions. In short, he knew Florence as no human being has ever known it; as Ruskin never knew it or George Eliot e"
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May 3, 2015
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 74 (74 new)
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Jan-Maat
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May 12, 2015 11:13AM
Flush is not so much a book by a dog lover as a book by someone who would love to be a dog. sad but not surprising considering
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Jan-Maat wrote: "Flush is not so much a book by a dog lover as a book by someone who would love to be a dog. sad but not surprising considering"Considering her name, or just considering full stop?
Fionnuala wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote: "Flush is not so much a book by a dog lover as a book by someone who would love to be a dog. sad but not surprising considering"Considering her name, or just considering full stop?"
considering that as far as I recall she was sexually abused by one of her half brothers while a child
Well now Virginia woof is stuck in my head
Jan-Maat wrote: "considering that as far as I recall she was sexually abused by one of her half brothers while a child"I've heard that story - don't know the facts. It's true that she rarely writes about sex but she doesn't go out of her way to avoid writing about sex either. I'm still wondering what the story about her half brother has to do with her wanting to have been a dog though....
And by the way, sex is mentioned quite a bit in her last novel, Between the Acts which I've just finished.
James wrote: "Well now Virginia woof is stuck in my head"Woof, woof!
Have you read that volume of love letters? Sounds really interesting...
Book Portrait wrote: "Have you read that volume of love letters? Sounds really interesting..."The parts of this book set in London before the Barrett/Browning wedding happened, and when Barrett was confined to her room with some unspecified illness reveal the intensity of the relationship between the pair, a relationship which was mostly carried out through the letters, initially anyway. So you are right, BP, the letters are sure to be amazing. Two poets corresponding after all...
Fionnuala wrote: "I'm still wondering what the story about her half brother has to do with her wanting to have been a dog though..."oh, I was assuming as an escape from the complexities and pain of her experience of being human.
Though perhaps a more English reading of that desire to be a dog would be to see it as a wish to be extravagantly loved and petted!
I see what you mean, Jan-Maat, but I think the nephew was probably talking about her great love of dogs in general (she always had a dog or two) and exaggerating to make that point, as we do...
A playful review of a playful biography of a distinguished dog, which apart from physically resembling his owner might have also been able to bark in rhyme...woolf woolf...who knows! I won't ever make progress with my backlog of pending reviews if writings like this one keep appearing on my updates feed...
Dolors wrote: "A playful review of a playful biography of a distinguished dog, which apart from physically resembling his owner might have also been able to bark in rhyme...woolf woolf...who knows!..."I think you're right, D, Flush was a poet deep down:
He devoured whole bunches of ripe grapes largely because of their purple colour....He followed the swooning sweetness of incense into the violet intricacies of dark cathedrals; and, sniffing, tried to lap the gold on the window-stained tomb.
Sorry about the pile of pending reviews ;-(
A biography of a dog? Virginia, what were you thinking...
Just finished walking in circles myself (with this review, of course). Much fun I tell you.
Ha ha Fio , that was really funny ...
Jibran wrote: "A biography of a dog? Virginia, what were you thinking..."...how could she resist the appeal of Flush?
In her letters, Elizabeth Barrett mentions such puppy dog's tails as my Flush's or shaking my head just as Flush would...
Himanshu wrote: "Just finished walking in circles myself (with this review, of course). Much fun I tell you."Very happy to give you so much fun, H - and relieved too that you found it funny and not barking mad...
Agnieszka wrote: "Ha ha Fio , that was really funny ..."VW wrote in the diaries: I see why I fled, after 'The Waves', to 'Flush'. One wants simply to sit on a bank and throw stones..
She was writing Flush alongside The Years and later she says: I shall take up Flush again to cool myself so she certainly must have found him an entertaining subject, at times at least, because further on she talks of trying to re-write 'Flush' in 13 days so as to be able to get on with The Years, and she calls him that abominable dog more than once.
Even the cutest puppies lose their cuteness eventually...
Fionnuala wrote: "VW wrote in the diaries: I see why I fled, after 'The Waves', to 'Flush'. One wants simply to sit on a bank and throw stones.. "Ah there. Now I know what Virginia was thinking when she wrote Flush. She was throwing stones at The Waves! It must have eased the tumult of her ever-whirling mind...
Cute puppy up there! :D
Jibran wrote: "....Now I know what Virginia was thinking when she wrote Flush. She was throwing stones at The Waves...";-)
Doesn't that picture of her sitting on a bank throwing stones make her so human? We've all done it, and isn't there something about throwing pebbles in a pond that makes us reflect on our lives too? The difference is she wrote down her reflections, every one of them, and turned them into art.
I've recently finished Orlando, Moments of Being , a short bio of Woolf and, after this review , will follow in your steps with Waves and Flush.
Piquant review for a fun book. Out of diverse books I've read that get into the perspective of an animal, I was impressed that she had enough imagination to keep the dog a dog didn't make Flush too human in mentality (a philosopher, yes, but of dog concepts). So many others go too far in that way. I am pondering now a book from the mind of Robert E. Lee's horse by the author of "Watership Down".
Nicole~ wrote: "I've recently finished Orlando, Moments of Being , a short bio of Woolf and, after this review , will follow in your steps with Waves and Flush."Flush is a literal romp to Orlando's metaphorical one, Nicole - both excellently lighthearted.
People forget that VW can be fun too.
Michael wrote: "Piquant review for a fun book. Out of diverse books I've read that get into the perspective of an animal, I was impressed that she had enough imagination to keep the dog a dog..."Yes, I loved his doggy philosophy. When Elizabeth Browning thought he was staring in the mirror considering the difference between appearance and reality, VW brings us back down to earth and tell us Flush was simply an aristocrat considering his points.
Nicole~ wrote: "I've recently finished Orlando, Moments of Being , a short bio of Woolf and, after this review , will follow in your steps with Waves and Flush."What was the bio you read, Nicole? I'm wondering about reading the one by Quentin Bell - but I suspect it will be a gentle take on VW rather than an analytical/critical one in the real sense. I'll see if it's free to download..
Just found this poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.It gives an idea of her classical allusion laden style - and a little picture of Flush:
You see this dog. It was but yesterday
I mused, forgetful of his presence here,
Till thought on thought drew downward tear on tear;
When from the pillow, where wet-cheeked I lay,
A head as hairy as Faunus, thrust its way
Right sudden against my face,—two golden-clear
Large eyes astonished mine,—a drooping ear
Did flap me on either cheek, to dry the spray!
I started first, as some Arcadian
Amazed by goatly god in twilight grove:
But as my bearded vision closelier ran
My tears off, I knew Flush, and rose above
Surprise and sadness; thanking the true Pan,
Who, by low creatures, leads to heights of love.
I'm hesitant when it comes to books written in the pov of a dog (or a wolf, or any other canine), but your review convinced me to check this one out.The only other novel with a dog as its narrator I loved so far is The Art of Racing in the Rain.
Ted wrote: "What a great review, Fionnuala. I just loved it! ;)[And I am grateful that Woolf didn't want to be a cat]"
That might have made for a weird cat!
Hey! There is a such a weird cat - the werewolf cat!
(view spoiler)
Matt wrote: "I'm hesitant when it comes to books written in the pov of a dog (or a wolf, or any other canine), but your review convinced me to check this one out.The only other novel with a dog as its narrator..."
Matt, I checked out the book you mentioned written from the dog's angle - impressive!
The narrative in Flush is omniscient however though the point of view of the dog is favoured.
If you're looking for something written entirely from a dog's p.o.v., I've recently heard of this unusual book: Spill Simmer Falter Wither but I don't know much about it.
The illustration on the cover of this book is the 1843 portrait of Elizabeth Barrett and Flush done by her brother Alfred shortly before she married Robert Browning and moved to Italy.
Not having read this one, I wonder if it could have inspired Auster's Timbuktu, where the wonderful Mr. Bones tries to speak, but can only say Woóf! Woóf! Woóf!. And yes! she does look like a spaniel. Thanks for my first morning howl!
Tony wrote: "Not having read this one, I wonder if it could have inspired Auster's Timbuktu, where the wonderful Mr. Bones tries to speak, but can only say Woóf! Woóf! Woóf!.."I remember you saying how eloquent he was all the same.
When Flush went to Italy, he found out that not all dogs say woof woof:
Italian dogs say bau bau
And
German dogs say vow vow
Polish say hau-hau
Japanese say wan wan
Spanish say gua-gua
Norwegian say voff-voff
French say wouf wouf
Albanian say ham ham
Dutch say blaf-blaf
Persian say bad-bad
Ukrainian say dzyau-dzyau
Welsh say wif-wif
Irish go amh-amh
And Tamil say lol lol....
I think I'll wait for your review before "Spill Simmer Falter Wither". "Timbuktu" I actually read, and liked. But it was ten years ago, and I don't remember much of it.German dogs say vow vow
The actual German words would be "wau-wau" :)
And the librarian says ook-ook.
Matt wrote: "And the librarian says ook-ook. 
Fionnuala wrote: "When Flush went to Italy, he found out that not all dogs say woof woof:Italian dogs say bau bau
And
German dogs say vow vow
Polish say hau-hau
Japanese say wan wan
Spanish say gua-gua
Norwegian say voff-voff
French say wouf wouf
Albanian say ham ham
Dutch say blaf-blaf
Persian say bad-bad
Ukrainian say dzyau-dzyau
Welsh say wif-wif
Irish go amh-amh
And Tamil say lol lol.... "
Hmm. No entry for American dogs. How about: bush-bush! bush-bush-bush!? (not a political statement, nor cheer).
By the way, I was just thinking the other day how I prefer a low growl to a yip-yip-yip. I don't even know if that's true or what it says about me if it is.
Woolf wrote to a friend: I was so tired after finishing 'The Waves' that I lay in the garden and read the Browning love letters, and the figure of the dog made me laugh so I couldn’t resist making him a Life.And you also got a funny reprieve from some heavy-duty reading :-)
This is what they call 'a heart-warming review'! Pets are heart-warming, no?
Loved your selections of the status posts too.
Tony wrote: "Hmm. No entry for American dogs. How about: bush-bush! bush-bush-bush!? "Hey that's finneganese for barking mad:
cat my dogs, if I baint dingbushed like everything!
Mala wrote: "And you also got a funny reprieve from some heavy-duty reading :-)This is what they call 'a heart-warming review'! Pets are heart-warming, no? Loved your selections of the status posts too. "
And you all got a reprieve from heavy-duty review reading!
And yes, there was some lovely writing in this book although paradoxically, the narrator tells us that not a single one of Flush's myriad sensations ever submitted itself to the deformity of words
This discussion now brings to mind The Lives of the Monster Dogs. I don't think it was narrated by a dog, but I can't check because I no longer have it. Darn it.I may not have been sophisticated enough to appreciate it when I read it? I gave it only 2 stars, but Jeffrey K gave it 5! (But my review out-worded his 10 to nil.)
Woolf could have probably written an autobiography of her writing desk and made it into a modernist masterpiece. Definitely reading this.
Ted wrote: "This discussion now brings to mind The Lives of the Monster Dogs. I don't think it was narrated by a dog, but I can't check because I no longer have it. Darn it..."Baint that some dingbushed crazy-sounding book!
Fionnuala wrote: "Baint that some dingbushed crazy-sounding book!"And it has a crazy German scientist (like Frankenstein). Oh well, go ahead. It's true. All our scientist are crazy ones :)
Samadrita wrote: "Woolf could have probably written an autobiography of her writing desk and made it into a modernist masterpiece. Definitely reading this."Her writing desk was home-made - by her husband - and it looked like it might have been made out of packing-cases so it may well have had stories to tell, Sama ;-)
Matt wrote: "Fionnuala wrote: "Baint that some dingbushed crazy-sounding book!"And it has a crazy German scientist (like Frankenstein). Oh well, go ahead. It's true. All our scientist are crazy ones :)"
Not intentional, Matt, like the vow vow, blame it on the innernets....and Joyce...and Bush...and Tony.
Ok maybe not Tony, I just heard a deep growl coming from post #38
This may be the first GR comment stream ever that discusses a biography (to say nothing of an autobiography) of a writing desk.
Ted wrote: "This may be the first GR comment stream ever that discusses a biography (to say nothing of an autobiography) of a writing desk."The comment thread that boldly goes where no man has gone before...
Fionnuala wrote: "blame it on the innernets....and Joyce...and Bush...and Tony.Ok maybe not Tony, I just heard a deep growl coming from post #38"
I gave up growling when I gave up work, Fionnuala. Now I just wag my tail at good reviews. Woóf!
