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Book Review
Jan. 24th, 2015 10:58 amVanessa and Her Sister
by Priya Parmar
Vanessa and Her Sister focuses on Vanessa Bell and her relationships with her husband Clive and sister Virginia Woolf during the early years of the Bloomsbury Group. It's an honest and sympathetic look at a complicated sibling relationship and marriage. Parmar tells the story through Vanessa's (fictional) diary, interspersed with letters, postcards, and telegrams, and the device mostly works.
While I enjoyed reading this book, I do wish it had a bit more depth - it turned out to be a much lighter read than I was expecting. It focused a lot on the love affairs and flirtations of Vanessa, Virginia, and the rest of the Bloomsbury group, and often felt almost dishy (although not in a bad way, necessarily). I would have liked more about the intellectual and artistic lives of the characters. The parts about Vanessa's painting were good, and I wished there had been more of that.
My favorite thing about Vanessa and Her Sister was the way Parmar created a warm, engaging atmosphere. It made me wish I could have lived in that time and place, and been part of the Bloomsbury Group.
by Priya Parmar
Vanessa and Her Sister focuses on Vanessa Bell and her relationships with her husband Clive and sister Virginia Woolf during the early years of the Bloomsbury Group. It's an honest and sympathetic look at a complicated sibling relationship and marriage. Parmar tells the story through Vanessa's (fictional) diary, interspersed with letters, postcards, and telegrams, and the device mostly works.
While I enjoyed reading this book, I do wish it had a bit more depth - it turned out to be a much lighter read than I was expecting. It focused a lot on the love affairs and flirtations of Vanessa, Virginia, and the rest of the Bloomsbury group, and often felt almost dishy (although not in a bad way, necessarily). I would have liked more about the intellectual and artistic lives of the characters. The parts about Vanessa's painting were good, and I wished there had been more of that.
My favorite thing about Vanessa and Her Sister was the way Parmar created a warm, engaging atmosphere. It made me wish I could have lived in that time and place, and been part of the Bloomsbury Group.
