Reviews for Congenial Spirits: The Selected Letters of Virginia Woolf

The average rating for Congenial Spirits: The Selected Letters of Virginia Woolf based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-10-06 00:00:00 Rj Lemaster «(…) does it strike you that one's friendships are long conversations, perpetually broken off, but always about the same thing with the same person? With Lytton I talk about reading; with Clive about love; with Nessa about people (...) with Vita - well, what do I talk about with Vita? Sometimes we snore-». Review in English | Reseña en español (abajo) Selected Letters is a compilation "of the finest and most enjoyable of Virginia Woolf's letters", or rather a selection of the more than four thousand letters she wrote in her lifetime. J. Trautmann Banks has selected, compiled and edited the correspondence from the six-volume Hogarth Press' full edition letters (published in 1989 - The Letters of Virginia Woolf Series), along with new additions and a few uncollected letters, to create the account of Virginia Woolf's life. In so, this volume displays the biography of Virginia through both private and public letters, from her childhood -the first letters dated from 1888, when she was 6 years-old- to her three suicide notes -the last one to her husband, Leonard: "I want to tell you that you have given me complete happiness. No one could have done more than you have done. Please believe that (…)". I've read this volume through the span of two months, savouring every word and reading each letter as if you were coming back to a long-dead friend's life, recounting every detail, thought and relationships she had during her lifetime. This book is not intended to be a fast reading, neither a detailed biographic narrative or a memoir, but I think it's an amazing way of getting to know Virginia Woolf better -I think this can be the background, alongside with her Diaries, to have in mind while reading the biographies or detailed studies about her life (whether Quentin Bell's or others), and also to understand better her own fiction works and essays: "I believe that the main thing in beginning a novel is to feel, not that you can write it, but that it exists on the far side of a gulf, which words can't cross: that it's to be pulled through only in a breathless anguish". The main theme she wrote on her letters is life itself: friendships, lovers, literature, religion, politics, her works, and some glimpses to her mental illness. I especially enjoyed the letters to her beloved friend Lytton Strachey, and her lover Vita Sackville-West, but I'm glad I've discovered other Virginias: the literary critic, the essayist, the cynical and gossip one, or the maternal one with her nephews and niece. One of the things that stood out for me about this edition is the detailed footnotes and explanations about her correspondents, friends, and other people mentioned, and also those about the endless references she always made about poetry and English literature (especially Shakespeare) in her letters: "(…) Did I tell you I'm reading the whole of English literature through? By the time I've reached Shakespeare the bombs will be falling. So I've arranged a very nice last scene: reading Shakespeare, having forgotten my gas mask, I shall fade away, and quite forget…". To sum up, Selected Letters has been an amazing reading and one that I'm sure I'll be back from time to time while continue reading her works or her biographies. It has also lead me to new readings and authors -I think it's wise to complete the picture by reading Selected Diaries and probably a selected correspondence between Virginia and Vita-; and all in all, I've come to understand and know Virginia better, and it felt like a long last hug. «Do we then know nobody? -only our own versions of them, which, as likely as not, are emanations from ourselves» ''''' Selected Letters es una compilación "de las mejores y más agradables cartas de Virginia Woolf", o más bien una selección entre las más de cuatro mil cartas que escribió en su vida. J. Trautmann Banks ha seleccionado, compilado y editado la correspondencia de la edición completa, de seis volúmenes, de Hogarth Press (publicadas en 1989 - The Letters of Virginia Woolf Series), junto con nuevas adiciones y algunas cartas no recogidas allí, para crear una narrativa de la vida de Virginia Woolf. Así, este volumen muestra la biografía de Virginia a través de cartas privadas y públicas, desde su infancia -las primeras cartas datan de 1888, cuando tenía 6 años-, hasta sus tres notas de suicidio, la última para su esposo, Leonard: "Quiero decirte que me has dado la completa felicidad. Nadie podría haber hecho más que tú. Por favor créelo (…)". He leído este volumen en el lapso de unos dos meses, saboreando cada palabra y leyendo cada carta como si volviera a la vida de una gran amiga fallecida hace mucho tiempo, contando cada detalle, pensamiento y relación que tuvo durante su vida. Este libro no pretende ser una lectura rápida, ni una narrativa biográfica detallada o una memoria, pero creo que es una forma increíble de conocer mejor a Virginia Woolf: creo que puede servir de trasfondo, junto con sus Diarios, para tener en mente al leer las biografías o los estudios detallados sobre su vida (ya sea la de Quentin Bell u otros), y también para comprender mejor sus trabajos de ficción y ensayos: "Creo que lo principal en comenzar una novela es sentir, no que puedes escribirla, sino que existe en el otro lado del abismo, que las palabras no pueden cruzar: que se debe atravesar solo en una angustia sin aliento". El tema principal que se extrae de sus cartas es la vida en sí misma: amistades, amantes, literatura, religión, política, sus obras y algunas vislumbres de su enfermedad mental. Disfruté especialmente las cartas a su gran amigo Lytton Strachey, y las enviadas a su amante Vita Sackville-West , pero me alegro también de haber descubierto otras Virginias: la crítica literaria, la ensayista, la cínica y cotilla, o la maternal con sus sobrinos y sobrina. Una de las cosas que más me han gustado sobre esta edición son las notas detalladas al pie de página y las explicaciones sobre sus amigos y otras personas mencionadas, y también sobre las interminables referencias que siempre hizo sobre poesía y literatura inglesa (especialmente Shakespeare) en su cartas: "(...)¿Te conté que estoy leyendo toda la literatura inglesa? Cuando llegue a Shakespeare, las bombas caerán. Así que he preparado una última escena muy agradable: leyendo a Shakespeare, habiendo olvidado mi máscara de gas, me desvaneceré y olvidaré por completo... ". En resumen, Selected Letters ha sido una lectura increíble y estoy segura de que volveré de vez en cuando mientras sigo leyendo sus obras u otros estudios sobre su vida y obra. También me alegra que me ha llevado a nuevas lecturas y autores -creo que es aconsejable completar su imagen leyendo Selected Diaries y probablemente una correspondencia seleccionada entre Virginia y Vita, pero esto es por gusto personal-; y en general, he llegado a comprender y conocer mejor a Virginia, y me sentí como en un último gran abrazo con ella.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-11 00:00:00 Tom Burke Woolf's letters, as always, are stunning. This edition's footnotes were thorough'and necessary, considering the swift pace at which the collection moves. Condensing the whole of Woolf's letters into a single volume inescapably meant speeding through the major events of her life, and at times the book can read as a bit disorienting. On the whole, though, Banks does a nice job of sketching Woolf's growth as a person and as an artist through her letters, making the book ideal for easy reading before bed.