The plot is unimportant here so I’m not going to talk about that or criticise it. Woolf was purposely trying to break narrative conventions. She didn’t want a plot. She didn’t need one. Though I’m left with a feeling of emptiness after reading it. What do I take away from the book? What’s the overall point of it? Surely there’s more to it than showing that different people think, feel and express themselves in a way specifically personal to them? I’m just left with a puzzling feeling that makes me form a question that lingers over my mind whenever I think about this book: was that really it Woolf, don’t you have a little more to say?

The first half of the book is pretty much what you’d expect from a sweet YA romance with a touch of mystery. I avoided reading Virginia Woolf for a very long time, suspecting her and her privileged Bloomsbury friends of intellectual elitism and of believing themselves to somehow enshrine the essence of civilisation ( E M Forster escaped this embargo fortunately). This beauty here has permeated every fiber and bone inside me, at a time in my life in which I let nothing into my heart anymore. This story and these characters crashed right through. It has consumed all of me in the most wonderful and delightful ways a person could feel (I have never ever used the word delightful so……that speaks volumes), no pun intended……until I decided to leave said pun alone. Virginia Woolf here gives us possibly the best ever description of her own writing method, especially fitting for this novel and The Waves – “Beautiful and bright it should be on the surface, feathery and evanescent, one colour melting into another like the colours on a butterfly's wing; but beneath the fabric must be clamped together with bolts of iron. It was to be a thing you could ruffle with your breath; and a thing you could not dislodge with a team of horses.”

However, unexpected incidents result in Amy meeting Ryan and spending her weekend with him. Ryan is a young man caring for his father and working on their family ranch. Step 1. Choose one of her novels and start reading. No procrastination for years and years. I added To The Lighthouse to my shelves in 2014 and I could not gathered the courage to start the novel until now. What changed? A discussion about her genius on Zoom. The pair hits off and feels comfortable talking to each other. The lighthouse, though, has other plans. The lamp flashes a strong beam after decades and results in a rush of speculations and assumptions. What follows are tales of love and heartbreak. Despite the heartbreak and sadness, this story is so heartwarming, full of magic and supernatural elements. There were parts I really liked about The Lighthouse and parts that made me shake my head in disgust. I did enjoy the ending. Amy’s dialogue seemed to me very childish in parts. It did not sound like the way an eighteen year old woman would talk. I was not a big fan of the supernatural elements either. Overall, I was more disappointed in The Lighthouse than thrilled with it.

To the Lighthouse, a 15-minute Drama, BBC Radio 4 11/08/2014 - 15/08/2014 dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths

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The emotional story set in the town called Seabrook is a character driven tale centered on Amy and Ryan, both of them struggling in their own ways. There’s a palpable sense of grief that is endured by Amy and the writing by the author is so beautiful that the town of Seabrook becomes a visual experience. Some parts of the story with aspects of magical realism are thoroughly absorbing and along with Amy, I felt uplifted and buoyed up with the selflessness and kindness that shines thru Ryan.