Woolf’s first published work, and the longest of the ones I own. Very interested to know what this book is about!

Read: Jan. 23 – Jan. 24 & Feb. 3 to Feb. 4, 2025

Genre: Classic, Literary Fiction
Audience: General
Book contains: period typical racism, period typical sexism, main character death

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

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A Satirical Look at Edwardian Life

Helen and Ridley Ambrose have taken up their brother-in-law’s offer for a journey to South America on his cargo ship, where they meet and take charge of his daughter, their niece Rachel Vinrace. Helen is determined to make a true young woman of Rachel, who has been sheltered her whole twenty-four years of life.

Woolf’s way of writing is constantly confusing to me, not only because of the obscure metaphors she uses, but because she uses characters’ first and last names interchangeably with no distinguishable pattern, so that if you miss a character’s full name being given, you may not realize that both names refer to the same person. I had to read this book twice before everything became clear and easily pictured.

The Voyage Out is told in third person, and follows quite a few characters, the POV often flitting to a new character within the same scene, like a butterfly fluttering around a garden. The paragraphs can also be quite long, so one must ensure focus so as not to lose their place.

I listened along to this book on YouTube since I could not find it on Spotify. The LibriVox reader was quite slow—even at 2x speed he was speaking at a regular talking pace—but overall the reading was quite good and he never stuttered or tripped over his words.

Rachel Vinrace was very obviously the main character, as she is growing from an ignorant girl to one who has experienced life and love. She’s staying with her aunt throughout the book, and meets an array of people: Mr and Mrs Dalloway on the ship; and Mr and Mrs Thornbury, Mr and Mrs Elliot, St. John Hirst, Terance Hewet, and Evelyn M at the hotel once they arrive in South America. The diversity of the cast was confusing but also enjoyable, as there were so many stories and personalities and opinions to explore.

I wasn’t quite sure about the relationships between the characters, as their dialogue was a bit confusing, but there were many people who like one another, and many who particularly dislike one another; it was quite humorous. The romance that Rachel finds was odd but still made sense; it’s just something I’ve never seen in a book like this before. Quite refreshing, actually.

I’ve found that I’m not much of a fan of the way Woolf’s POV wanders so much. It’s hard to keep track of and thus forces me to focus with an intensity that drains me enjoyment of reading, as I am unable to pay enough attention to the actual plot. All the same, her metaphors and way of writing are so smooth and deep that you can’t help but get lost in the words.

It’s a fairly long book, and while every scene gives more to the story, it felt to me that the pacing dragged on a bit, as other older classics tend to do. I was not, however, expecting the ending, so that more than made up for it.

The humour was on point, so I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy poking fun at the old ways of life, and pushing some limits.

Related Reviews:

The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dallowayby Virginia Woolf
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens