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Vanessa and Virginia
"You see, even after all these years, I wonder if you really loved me."
Vanessa and Virginia are sisters, best friends, bitter rivals, and artistic collaborators. As children, they fight for attention from their overextended mother, their brilliant but difficult father, and their adored brother, Thoby. As young women, they support each other through a series of devastating deaths, then emerge in bohemian Bloomsbury, bent on creating new lives and groundbreaking works of art. Through everything—marriage, lovers, loss, madness, children, success and failure—the sisters remain the closest of co-conspirators. But they also betray each other.
In this lyrical, impressionistic account, written as a love letter and elegy from Vanessa to Virginia, Sellers imagines her way into the heart of the lifelong relationship between writer Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell. With sensitivity, imagination, and fidelity to what is known of both lives, Sellers has created a powerful portrait of sibling rivalry.
Vanessa and Virginia are sisters, best friends, bitter rivals, and artistic collaborators. As children, they fight for attention from their overextended mother, their brilliant but difficult father, and their adored brother, Thoby. As young women, they support each other through a series of devastating deaths, then emerge in bohemian Bloomsbury, bent on creating new lives and groundbreaking works of art. Through everything—marriage, lovers, loss, madness, children, success and failure—the sisters remain the closest of co-conspirators. But they also betray each other.
In this lyrical, impressionistic account, written as a love letter and elegy from Vanessa to Virginia, Sellers imagines her way into the heart of the lifelong relationship between writer Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell. With sensitivity, imagination, and fidelity to what is known of both lives, Sellers has created a powerful portrait of sibling rivalry.
213 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Susan Sellers
33 books36 followersSusan Sellers is an author, editor, translator and novelist and Professor of English at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
January 14, 2019
«Did you remember me, Leonard, the children, as you left your stick on the bank and strode out into the swirling water, or were all your thoughts bent on escaping what you could no longer bear to endure? You see, even after all these years, I wonder if you really loved me»
Review in English | Reseña en español (abajo)
Vanessa and Virginia is a biographical fiction novel about the family relationship between Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. With an epistolary / diary narrative from Vanessa's point of view, we will know the intense, interesting and sometimes difficult relationship that the Stephen sisters had over the years and until Virginia decides to commit suicide.
Although I was quite blind about how this book was, I honestly expected something closer to biography than fiction. The documentation work is impressive but you rather see it throughout the narrative –perhaps my inner historian needed explanatory footnotes and photographs to support the text–. In a first-person narration and always from Vanessa’s POV, we will know very interesting aspects about Vanessa's life (from her childhood, her family, her marriage, her children...), the Bloomsbury group and, of course, about her sister Virginia Woolf; but I always had the same doubts 'Is there any line that separates fiction and real events?' 'Did this fact really happen or is it an author's invention?'; so, if you are looking for a biographical novel with chunks of data, you won’t find that in this book. Either way, you will do find the fictionalized life of a painter whose contributions to the world of English art were splendid but who always stands in her sister’s shadow.
It is, in short, a very sweet story (with some tougher excerpts) that sadly didn’t make me empathize with the 'protagonist' (Vanessa). Even so, it has made me want to know even more about both women and the author succeed in using a different and interesting narrative to tell us what we can find in other more specialized and rigorous biographies.
P. S. I'm not a native English speaker, so if you see any mistakes let me know so I can correct them, please
—
Vanessa y Virginia (traducido en España como Las hermanas Woolf) es una novela de ficción biográfica sobre la relación familiar entre Vanessa Bell y Virginia Woolf. Narrado de forma epistolar / diario desde el punto de vista de Vanessa, conoceremos la relación tan intensa, interesante y, a veces difícil, que tuvieron las hermanas Stephen a lo largo de los años y hasta que Virginia decide suicidarse.
Aunque iba bastante a ciegas sobre cómo era este libro, sinceramente me esperaba algo más cercano a la biografía que a la ficción. El trabajo de documentación que hay detrás es impresionante pero creo que queda poco lucido a lo largo de la narración –quizás mi historiadora interior necesitaba notas al pie explicativas y fotografías que apoyaran al texto–. En primera persona y siempre desde el punto de vista de Vanessa Bell, conoceremos aspectos interesantísimos sobre la vida de Vanessa (desde su infancia, su familia, su matrimonio, sus hijos…), el grupo de Bloomsbury y, evidentemente, sobre su hermana Virginia Woolf; pero siempre me quedaba con la duda '¿hay alguna línea que separe la ficción y los hechos reales?' '¿este hecho pasó en realidad o es invención de la autora?'; así que, si estáis buscando una novela biográfica con datos, no encontraréis eso en este libro. Os encontraréis la vida novelada de una artista que aportó muchísimo al mundo del arte inglés pero que siempre estuvo a la sombra de su hermana escritora.
Es, en resumen, un relato muy tierno y con pinceladas bastante duras pero que, a mí, no me hizo empatizar con la 'protagonista' (Vanessa). Eso sí, ha hecho que quiera saber todavía más sobre ambas mujeres y utiliza una narración diferente e interesante para contarnos lo que podemos encontrar en otras biografías más especializadas y rigurosas.
June 16, 2009
Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell were sisters, conspirators, and rivals: one was an outspoken writer, married but childless, while the other was a painter who kept her emotions to herself but was a devoted mother and (sometimes hopeless) lover. Sellers tells their story from Vanessa's point of view, in a series of letters addressed to Virginia after her river suicide in 1941. She describes events from their childhoods and on throughout their lives, touching only lightly on each event as Vanessa remembers it.
Readers who are unfamiliar with the Bloomsbury group are likely to be confused by Sellers' references to people and events with no context or explanations; for example, on one page, Vanessa and Virginia learn of Lytton Strachey's death and wonder how Dora Carrington (a painter who lived with him and adored him) will handle it, but it's never referred to again, even though not every reader is going to know what happened. (Carrington committed suicide soon afterward.) For those who do know Bloomsbury, it's easy to fill in the blanks, but I can only imagine the frustration of someone who doesn't.
Unfortunately, I also found Vanessa and Virginia unsatisfying from the perspective of someone who does know a lot about their lives and their circle. When I read historical fiction dealing with historical people, I want it to show me something that I couldn't have gotten from reading biography or history; I want to gain a deeper understanding of those lives through the imaginative portrayal of them. Although Sellers does delineate the close relationship between the sisters well, I didn't gain any more understanding than I already had through reading non-fiction books about them (especially Jane Dunn's Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy, which Sellers credits as a source). In the end, her novel is too impressionistic, too evanescent to satisfy me; it's ambitious and beautifully written, but it's more a watercolor sketch than a full portrait.
Readers who are unfamiliar with the Bloomsbury group are likely to be confused by Sellers' references to people and events with no context or explanations; for example, on one page, Vanessa and Virginia learn of Lytton Strachey's death and wonder how Dora Carrington (a painter who lived with him and adored him) will handle it, but it's never referred to again, even though not every reader is going to know what happened. (Carrington committed suicide soon afterward.) For those who do know Bloomsbury, it's easy to fill in the blanks, but I can only imagine the frustration of someone who doesn't.
Unfortunately, I also found Vanessa and Virginia unsatisfying from the perspective of someone who does know a lot about their lives and their circle. When I read historical fiction dealing with historical people, I want it to show me something that I couldn't have gotten from reading biography or history; I want to gain a deeper understanding of those lives through the imaginative portrayal of them. Although Sellers does delineate the close relationship between the sisters well, I didn't gain any more understanding than I already had through reading non-fiction books about them (especially Jane Dunn's Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy, which Sellers credits as a source). In the end, her novel is too impressionistic, too evanescent to satisfy me; it's ambitious and beautifully written, but it's more a watercolor sketch than a full portrait.
October 18, 2023
Geen gewone madammen, Vanessa Bell en haar zus Virgina Woolf !!
Leuk geschreven en heel vlot leesbaar verhaal over het leven, de rivaliteit en de liefde tussen 2 zussen.
Niettegenstaande de tijdsgeest (19de- 20ste eeuw) niet vriendelijk was voor vrouwen, trokken de 2 dames zich daar niets van aan en leefden hun leven tussen andere intellectuelen en kunstenaars.
Ik moest meteen denken aan de film “The Hours”, waarin oa. het leven van Virgina Woolf wordt verteld en waarin ook Vanessa Bell even opduikt.
Ik wil de film wel eens opnieuw zien, nu ik meer te weten ben gekomen over de beide zussen.
Leuk geschreven en heel vlot leesbaar verhaal over het leven, de rivaliteit en de liefde tussen 2 zussen.
Niettegenstaande de tijdsgeest (19de- 20ste eeuw) niet vriendelijk was voor vrouwen, trokken de 2 dames zich daar niets van aan en leefden hun leven tussen andere intellectuelen en kunstenaars.
Ik moest meteen denken aan de film “The Hours”, waarin oa. het leven van Virgina Woolf wordt verteld en waarin ook Vanessa Bell even opduikt.
Ik wil de film wel eens opnieuw zien, nu ik meer te weten ben gekomen over de beide zussen.
February 27, 2019
Una biografia romanzata delle sorelle Virginia Woolf e Vanessa Bell vista attraverso gli occhi di quest'ultima, più grande della sorella di tre anni, con uno stile che cerca di imitare quello impareggiabile e inconfondibile di Virginia, creando immagini vivide come le sue pennellate, cariche di ricordi, attraverso quella che è una sorta di lunga lettera d'amore a Virginia.
I rapporti famigliari dominano il romanzo, con rivalità, gelosie e possessività tra le due sorelle dal talento così vivace, che alla fine si ritagliano uno spazio tutto loro, puntando ciascuna sul proprio talento.
Ci siamo tenute buone a vicenda, esagerando le nostre differenze, rinunciando a ogni pretesa di sconfinare l’una nel campo dell’altra. Io, sempre meno abile di te con le parole, le ho abbandonate del tutto lasciandole a te sola. E per me stessa ho preso la pittura.
La lettera di Vanessa fluisce ininterrottamente, anche se in ogni capitolo ci spostiamo un po' avanti sulla linea del tempo, e le immagini di Virginia bambina vengono sostituite dalla Virginia ragazza e dalla donna che fonda il Bloomsbury Group assieme a Vanessa e all'amatissimo fratello Thoby (morto prematuramente di febbre tifoidea e la cui ombra ispirerà molte delle opere di Virginia), per arrivare alla Virginia scrittrice acclamata.
I rapporti famigliari dominano il romanzo, con rivalità, gelosie e possessività tra le due sorelle dal talento così vivace, che alla fine si ritagliano uno spazio tutto loro, puntando ciascuna sul proprio talento.
Ci siamo tenute buone a vicenda, esagerando le nostre differenze, rinunciando a ogni pretesa di sconfinare l’una nel campo dell’altra. Io, sempre meno abile di te con le parole, le ho abbandonate del tutto lasciandole a te sola. E per me stessa ho preso la pittura.
La lettera di Vanessa fluisce ininterrottamente, anche se in ogni capitolo ci spostiamo un po' avanti sulla linea del tempo, e le immagini di Virginia bambina vengono sostituite dalla Virginia ragazza e dalla donna che fonda il Bloomsbury Group assieme a Vanessa e all'amatissimo fratello Thoby (morto prematuramente di febbre tifoidea e la cui ombra ispirerà molte delle opere di Virginia), per arrivare alla Virginia scrittrice acclamata.
July 20, 2010
I thought the point of view using I as Vanessa and you, Virginia, was an interesting way to tell the story. I watched The Hours a few years ago, but I would like to see it again with this fresh on my mind. I did not know very much about either woman. I read a little online after finishing the book. Most of the events seemed to be pretty much historical.
May 28, 2023
Nuobodu. Nieko nesupratau. Kažkokia keista.
Dažniausiai knygoms lūkesčių neturiu, bet su šia buvo tikras nusivylimas. Iš kitų knygų teko kiek sužinoti apie Virdžinijos Wulf asmenybę ir gyvenimą, tai tikrai tikėjausi sužinoti daugiau. Deja, visiškai nesupratau ir visiškai manęs neįtikino knyga. Neaiškūs pokalbiai, neperprantamos mintys. Tikras laiko gaišinimas.
O gal aš tiesiog labai prasta skaitytoja.
Dažniausiai knygoms lūkesčių neturiu, bet su šia buvo tikras nusivylimas. Iš kitų knygų teko kiek sužinoti apie Virdžinijos Wulf asmenybę ir gyvenimą, tai tikrai tikėjausi sužinoti daugiau. Deja, visiškai nesupratau ir visiškai manęs neįtikino knyga. Neaiškūs pokalbiai, neperprantamos mintys. Tikras laiko gaišinimas.
O gal aš tiesiog labai prasta skaitytoja.
August 7, 2019
3.5
Une écriture poétique qui nous transporte à travers la relation ambiguë des deux soeurs. J’avoue cependant avoir parfois manqué de repères et de contexte.
Une écriture poétique qui nous transporte à travers la relation ambiguë des deux soeurs. J’avoue cependant avoir parfois manqué de repères et de contexte.
December 4, 2018
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Emotional impact: 3
Overall rating: 3.5
Writing: 4
Plot: 4
Characters: 3
Emotional impact: 3
Overall rating: 3.5
November 22, 2023
Boeiende en poëtische evocatie van momenten uit het leven van de beroemde zussen. Flitsen van een bewogen leven gekleurd door kunst en emotie.
February 27, 2011
Vanessa and Virginia / 978-0-151-01474-3
Not knowing anything at all about the lives of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, I approached this novel with some minor trepidation, concerned that I would not be able to follow the narrative in any meaningful fashion. I could not have been more wrong, for this deeply lyrical novel is both accessible and gripping, haunting the reader through to the final pages.
Written in an intensely beautiful, highly personal letter, Vanessa writes at the end of her life to her younger sister, Virginia. Virginia the spoiled, Virginia the aloof, Virginia the adored, Virginia the suicidal and depressed. Vanessa transports us to the days of their childhood, recalling little scenes, tiny tableaus of their lives, before skipping lightly, painfully ahead to the next shared memory. She speaks, haltingly, of her lost childhood. How she was forced to fill in as 'mother' after their own mother died; how their father hounded her with abuse and neediness that drained her, even as Virginia drained her with her own needs and wants and desires. Even here, we see the shadow of deep depression that looms over this talented family, and especially these two vibrant sisters.
As Vanessa continues her style, always in a deeply lyrical and highly accessible tone, we travel through the lives of these authors. We see the two sisters, loving each other deeply and yet keeping each other distant from the fear that can only be felt towards those who know our inner faults deeply and intimately. As Vanessa is unappreciated (her own paintings selling for a fraction of Virginia's highly praised writings) and unloved (first by her husband, who grows distant with the birth of their first child; then by her lover who steadfastly prefers men to his 'dear Nessa'), we feel her innermost pain as she struggles to be the perpetual mother to the needy men and unthinking children who surround her, with no one to ever mother her in return. Only Virginia can come close to fulfilling that need, and then only because she understands her sister more intimately than the men around her; she understand, at least, that Vanessa *has* needs, even if she is powerless to fulfill them.
This poignant novel is written with such fluidity that it is a pure joy to read, and yet the pages are so packed with meaning and deep sadness, that each page feels like a lifetime of effort. The reader feels at once intensely connected to Vanessa and understands her love for her sister, recognizes that this selfless sisterly love is one of mutual need for a soul mate, for someone who can understand, however imperfectly, the thoughts and needs harbored within. In this regard, "Vanessa and Virginia" reminded me, hauntingly, of Margaret Atwood's superb "The Blind Assassin", where another pair of sisters suffers the same painful attachment, an attachment born at least as much from shared pains and horrors of childhood as it is of shared flesh and blood.
A word about the sexuality in this novel. Although the back cover references the rumors of potential incest between the sisters, and although the book lightly hints that this is a possibility, the references are so swift and veiled that I am not certain I would have recognized them, had I not been 'primed' by the back cover to look for them. There are casual mentions throughout of the unorthodox (at the time, at least) sexual relationships between the members of the artistic set who follow Vanessa and Virginia, but there is very little overt sensuality in this book - rather, I would describe this instead as a sort of memoir, as the fictional Vanessa pours out her heart onto the page, skimming lightly over the details of her loves and lovers, and instead focusing on the task of inscribing, to her sister, the details of her life, from her own perspective.
In the end, despite my utter lack of knowledge of either the real Vanessa Bell or the real Virginia Woolf, I still found this novel to be a solemn joy - sobering and touching - and I recommend it strongly. I have no doubt that a Woolf or Bell enthusiast would derive even more pleasure from this novel, but I can say for certain that this novel is equally accessible to neophytes.
NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through Amazon Vine.
~ Ana Mardoll
Not knowing anything at all about the lives of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, I approached this novel with some minor trepidation, concerned that I would not be able to follow the narrative in any meaningful fashion. I could not have been more wrong, for this deeply lyrical novel is both accessible and gripping, haunting the reader through to the final pages.
Written in an intensely beautiful, highly personal letter, Vanessa writes at the end of her life to her younger sister, Virginia. Virginia the spoiled, Virginia the aloof, Virginia the adored, Virginia the suicidal and depressed. Vanessa transports us to the days of their childhood, recalling little scenes, tiny tableaus of their lives, before skipping lightly, painfully ahead to the next shared memory. She speaks, haltingly, of her lost childhood. How she was forced to fill in as 'mother' after their own mother died; how their father hounded her with abuse and neediness that drained her, even as Virginia drained her with her own needs and wants and desires. Even here, we see the shadow of deep depression that looms over this talented family, and especially these two vibrant sisters.
As Vanessa continues her style, always in a deeply lyrical and highly accessible tone, we travel through the lives of these authors. We see the two sisters, loving each other deeply and yet keeping each other distant from the fear that can only be felt towards those who know our inner faults deeply and intimately. As Vanessa is unappreciated (her own paintings selling for a fraction of Virginia's highly praised writings) and unloved (first by her husband, who grows distant with the birth of their first child; then by her lover who steadfastly prefers men to his 'dear Nessa'), we feel her innermost pain as she struggles to be the perpetual mother to the needy men and unthinking children who surround her, with no one to ever mother her in return. Only Virginia can come close to fulfilling that need, and then only because she understands her sister more intimately than the men around her; she understand, at least, that Vanessa *has* needs, even if she is powerless to fulfill them.
This poignant novel is written with such fluidity that it is a pure joy to read, and yet the pages are so packed with meaning and deep sadness, that each page feels like a lifetime of effort. The reader feels at once intensely connected to Vanessa and understands her love for her sister, recognizes that this selfless sisterly love is one of mutual need for a soul mate, for someone who can understand, however imperfectly, the thoughts and needs harbored within. In this regard, "Vanessa and Virginia" reminded me, hauntingly, of Margaret Atwood's superb "The Blind Assassin", where another pair of sisters suffers the same painful attachment, an attachment born at least as much from shared pains and horrors of childhood as it is of shared flesh and blood.
A word about the sexuality in this novel. Although the back cover references the rumors of potential incest between the sisters, and although the book lightly hints that this is a possibility, the references are so swift and veiled that I am not certain I would have recognized them, had I not been 'primed' by the back cover to look for them. There are casual mentions throughout of the unorthodox (at the time, at least) sexual relationships between the members of the artistic set who follow Vanessa and Virginia, but there is very little overt sensuality in this book - rather, I would describe this instead as a sort of memoir, as the fictional Vanessa pours out her heart onto the page, skimming lightly over the details of her loves and lovers, and instead focusing on the task of inscribing, to her sister, the details of her life, from her own perspective.
In the end, despite my utter lack of knowledge of either the real Vanessa Bell or the real Virginia Woolf, I still found this novel to be a solemn joy - sobering and touching - and I recommend it strongly. I have no doubt that a Woolf or Bell enthusiast would derive even more pleasure from this novel, but I can say for certain that this novel is equally accessible to neophytes.
NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through Amazon Vine.
~ Ana Mardoll
July 25, 2011
This book is a biographical novel...in the same way as The Paris wife. Susan Sellers has taken research of the entwined lives of sisters Virginia Wolffe and Venessa Bell and worked it into fiction. It was very reminiscent of Virginia's writing style in To The Lighthouse. After reading this I want to read other books from that time period. I have a book called Love in Bloomsbury which I think I will reread.
June 30, 2020
This was a nice read. Recommend it to sisters and all Virginia Woolf lovers.
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/vanes...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/v...
English: https://elifthereader.com/books/vanes...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/v...
March 26, 2024
Den här boken började för mig som svag trea, men stärkte sig mot slutet. Jag vet för lite om Vanessa, Virginia Woolfs syster, konstnärinnan. Jag frågar mig varför Susan Sellers vill skriva om henne i jag-form? Att skildra nästan ett helt liv i så korta bilder, i ett så litet format. Det borde vara i en önskan att 'leva sig in i' Vanessas livsupplevelse. Men jag saknar det. På något ställe 'säger' Vanessa till Virginia, att hon målar för att slippa känna.
Att jag nyss läste ut Nigel Nicolsons bok om Virginias liv, underlättade för mig att följa med i livets svängningar, hållpunkterna i deras liv, med dödsfall och kärlekar. Där sägs inget om syskonrivalitet, vilket den här romanen tycks ha som huvudtema. Det känns lite förvirrande att Vanessa, trebarns-modern, är den som vill begå självmord, och misslyckas, och att Virginia ber systern att lova att inte göra om det - alldeles innan hon själv dränker sig. Stämmer den hemligheten? Nicolson talar om Virginias olika försök att ta livet av sig, vilket också lyckades 1941.
Första halvan av boken känns författarens Vanessa-Jaget mer som en litteratur-professors önskan att få uttala sig om Virginia Woolf, inte hur en syster uttrycker sig. Jag får svårt att tro på det. Men mot slutet, när systrarna inte längre bor ihop, då växer texten, blir intressantare. Inte så att jag tar till mig Vanessas tankar kring sina tavlor. Men i roman-konstruktionen blir systrarna (för Vanessa var trots allt 2 år och 8 månader äldre) nästan skildrade som i tvillingsymbios. Jag tänker på de sammanblandade självmorden. Vanessa fortsatte trots allt att leva tjugo år längre än Virginia.
Virginia var ordkonstnären, som i ord kunde skildra konst helt fantastiskt. Men hon valde alltså att vara kreativ med ord. Valde Vanessa bildkonsten för att skilja sig från systern? De brevväxlade hela livet, tätt vad jag förstår. Hade även Vanessa orden i sin makt, eller kände hon sig underlägsen? Vad vet man egentligen? Författaren lyckas inte förmedla Vanessas Jag-berättare som riktar sig till systerns Du, för mig på det sättet. Så som vanligt blir jag tveksam när man lägger orden i mun på en faktisk person, i synnerhet som Jag-berättad, och inte bara sedd utifrån på håll.
Att jag nyss läste ut Nigel Nicolsons bok om Virginias liv, underlättade för mig att följa med i livets svängningar, hållpunkterna i deras liv, med dödsfall och kärlekar. Där sägs inget om syskonrivalitet, vilket den här romanen tycks ha som huvudtema. Det känns lite förvirrande att Vanessa, trebarns-modern, är den som vill begå självmord, och misslyckas, och att Virginia ber systern att lova att inte göra om det - alldeles innan hon själv dränker sig. Stämmer den hemligheten? Nicolson talar om Virginias olika försök att ta livet av sig, vilket också lyckades 1941.
Första halvan av boken känns författarens Vanessa-Jaget mer som en litteratur-professors önskan att få uttala sig om Virginia Woolf, inte hur en syster uttrycker sig. Jag får svårt att tro på det. Men mot slutet, när systrarna inte längre bor ihop, då växer texten, blir intressantare. Inte så att jag tar till mig Vanessas tankar kring sina tavlor. Men i roman-konstruktionen blir systrarna (för Vanessa var trots allt 2 år och 8 månader äldre) nästan skildrade som i tvillingsymbios. Jag tänker på de sammanblandade självmorden. Vanessa fortsatte trots allt att leva tjugo år längre än Virginia.
Virginia var ordkonstnären, som i ord kunde skildra konst helt fantastiskt. Men hon valde alltså att vara kreativ med ord. Valde Vanessa bildkonsten för att skilja sig från systern? De brevväxlade hela livet, tätt vad jag förstår. Hade även Vanessa orden i sin makt, eller kände hon sig underlägsen? Vad vet man egentligen? Författaren lyckas inte förmedla Vanessas Jag-berättare som riktar sig till systerns Du, för mig på det sättet. Så som vanligt blir jag tveksam när man lägger orden i mun på en faktisk person, i synnerhet som Jag-berättad, och inte bara sedd utifrån på håll.
August 22, 2018
Pur non essendo un memoir mi piace pensare che il rapporto tra Vanessa e Virginia fosse proprio quello raccontato da questo romanzo, che loro fossero proprio così, due sorelle con gli stessi occhi che guardano con occhiali diversi.
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January 15, 2022Unique perspective on Virginia Wolf, as told by her sister Vanessa
January 13, 2021
En la voz de Vanessa recorremos diversos pasajes de la vida de las hermanas. Aunque es una obra de ficción, la autora es una reconocida estudiosa de la obra de Virginia. Revela aspectos sobre el proceso creativo de la escritura de Virginia y su relación con el mundo.
May 13, 2009
In Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers, Vanessa succinctly summarizes her relationship with her legendary sister, Virginia Woolf: “I might struggle against the call, I might even try to quell it, but my existence was not separate from yours.” The novel tells of the sisters’ childhood as they cope with a rash of ugly deaths and develop their talents. It then follows them as they marry, reproduce, and negotiate their fame and obscurity. It discreetly touches on depression, incest, and suicide without much depth instead relying on the rivalry between the sisters to provide the story’s tension.
This slim novel is told through “impressionistic” accounts which are more like mini scenes with no linear time progression. Many pages detail dreams or vivid descriptions of Vanessa’s paintings. It’s is Vanessa’s version we get, but she addresses the entire book to her departed sister Virginia which generates an odd mix of first person/second person narrative. This effective approach lets the reader stand in for Virginia Woolf hence becoming privy to the candid conversation of sisters. The way Sellers constructs this story is as telling of the characters as the actual events she describes.
Sellers doesn’t stray far from what is known in her depiction of these tortured artists. Although this story relates the sisters’ story as it affects Vanessa, by forcing the readers to consider Vanessa’s point of view, one must reconsider Virginia. The novel wavers from brilliant to annoyingly flowery and will most likely amuse Woolf’s fans. However, Vanessa and Virginia will definitely endear itself to sisters as they recognize their own relationships amongst the familial rivalry.
This slim novel is told through “impressionistic” accounts which are more like mini scenes with no linear time progression. Many pages detail dreams or vivid descriptions of Vanessa’s paintings. It’s is Vanessa’s version we get, but she addresses the entire book to her departed sister Virginia which generates an odd mix of first person/second person narrative. This effective approach lets the reader stand in for Virginia Woolf hence becoming privy to the candid conversation of sisters. The way Sellers constructs this story is as telling of the characters as the actual events she describes.
Sellers doesn’t stray far from what is known in her depiction of these tortured artists. Although this story relates the sisters’ story as it affects Vanessa, by forcing the readers to consider Vanessa’s point of view, one must reconsider Virginia. The novel wavers from brilliant to annoyingly flowery and will most likely amuse Woolf’s fans. However, Vanessa and Virginia will definitely endear itself to sisters as they recognize their own relationships amongst the familial rivalry.
January 20, 2019
This was my post to a nasty)(unnamed reviewer from Kirkus Review:
Whoa...a very flattering review and complete spoiler. Your last two sentences were completely nasty.
I am such an fan of Virginia Woolf--her novels, journals, and letters...as well as of her sister, Vanessa Bell. I've visited Charleston in East Sussex, Virginia and Leonard Woolf's home in Rodmell, and read biographies of both sisters. I loved this novel. Your review seems petty...you give away the sisters' basic story for those who don't already know it, and then just turn nasty. I didn't react this way to "Vanessa and Virginia at all: You write: "Vanessa comes across as a whiny victim to Virginia’s self-centered prig. A self-consciously precious sort-of-fiction that follows the facts and offers nothing new for Bloomsbury cultists while flattening much of the drama into navel-gazing."
I actually felt the story told from Vanessa's point of view was emotionally true (if sometimes imagined) and gave me a sense of how Vanessa may have experienced her life as an artist. Reading about Charleston has always made me jealous...such a rich life of friendship, conversation, politics and art.
This book shifted my understanding of the life in that extraordinary home. Of course, it was heartbreaking for Vanessa. Clive's interest waning once she was pregnant with their first child, Duncan's leaving her for another lover, Virginia's fragile mental health, her son, Julian's death, her daughter marrying her father's former lover, Virginia's suicide. It seems too much to bear. "Whiny victim?" You are nasty. Tell me about your perfect life.
Whoa...a very flattering review and complete spoiler. Your last two sentences were completely nasty.
I am such an fan of Virginia Woolf--her novels, journals, and letters...as well as of her sister, Vanessa Bell. I've visited Charleston in East Sussex, Virginia and Leonard Woolf's home in Rodmell, and read biographies of both sisters. I loved this novel. Your review seems petty...you give away the sisters' basic story for those who don't already know it, and then just turn nasty. I didn't react this way to "Vanessa and Virginia at all: You write: "Vanessa comes across as a whiny victim to Virginia’s self-centered prig. A self-consciously precious sort-of-fiction that follows the facts and offers nothing new for Bloomsbury cultists while flattening much of the drama into navel-gazing."
I actually felt the story told from Vanessa's point of view was emotionally true (if sometimes imagined) and gave me a sense of how Vanessa may have experienced her life as an artist. Reading about Charleston has always made me jealous...such a rich life of friendship, conversation, politics and art.
This book shifted my understanding of the life in that extraordinary home. Of course, it was heartbreaking for Vanessa. Clive's interest waning once she was pregnant with their first child, Duncan's leaving her for another lover, Virginia's fragile mental health, her son, Julian's death, her daughter marrying her father's former lover, Virginia's suicide. It seems too much to bear. "Whiny victim?" You are nasty. Tell me about your perfect life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2013
Originally I thought this was supposed to be from Vanessa's and Virginia's points of views and it was supposed to alternate back and forth. Then I re-read the description and discovered it was only supposed to be Vanessa speaking. Much less confusing now. But because of this initial confusion, I felt like I was totally lost, so at 60% finished with the book, I decided to start over. Clearly this will take longer than usual.
The language is beautiful, lilting and lyrical. I think that's why I was so confused at first; I expected the language to reflect a writer's words, not a painter's. (Not to say that painters can't write well, just that...I dunno, it read more like it was supposed to be Virginia Woolf speaking. _Anyway_)
She introduces characters without warning and then doesn't tell you who they are. It's difficult to keep up with so maybe it's better if you know the historical period very well. But when a new character is introduced, I find myself scrambling to figure out who the hell they are. This is true even the second time around, which means she could've done better. :-/
The ending seemed abrupt, but very welcome. I found this book profoundly frustrating in its' lack of introducing or even developing characters much. I wouldn't read it again. Unless you are very familiar with Vanessa Bell's and Virginia Woolf's lives, a lot of the nuances will be lost on you (at least, I feel like they were lost on me). Strangely enough, I finished this book the day after Virginia Woolf's birthday (odd coincidences).
The language is beautiful, lilting and lyrical. I think that's why I was so confused at first; I expected the language to reflect a writer's words, not a painter's. (Not to say that painters can't write well, just that...I dunno, it read more like it was supposed to be Virginia Woolf speaking. _Anyway_)
She introduces characters without warning and then doesn't tell you who they are. It's difficult to keep up with so maybe it's better if you know the historical period very well. But when a new character is introduced, I find myself scrambling to figure out who the hell they are. This is true even the second time around, which means she could've done better. :-/
The ending seemed abrupt, but very welcome. I found this book profoundly frustrating in its' lack of introducing or even developing characters much. I wouldn't read it again. Unless you are very familiar with Vanessa Bell's and Virginia Woolf's lives, a lot of the nuances will be lost on you (at least, I feel like they were lost on me). Strangely enough, I finished this book the day after Virginia Woolf's birthday (odd coincidences).
May 31, 2016
This book hung about my book case for a good year and a half, and I vaguely remember finding it on a massive book sale event for a few euros and taking it home, liking its premise of filling in Virginia Woolf's life. And then, Susan Sellers turned out to be a lecturer on my MLitt programme and I recalled having this book. Which is why I finally read it!
The start was a bit slow. The novel is written from Vanessa's perspective, in a style loosely resembling stream-of-consciousness. Since these are all memories, I initially had some trouble with the fragmented timeline, but this might also be due to my fragmented reading of the book. Once I got into it properly, I pretty much read half of it in two hours, going much more smoothly with the flow of the novel.
Eventually, both sisters have their problems as characters, and Sellers is not afraid to show them. However, despite the abundance of detail and inner world of Vanessa, they never truly became flesh-and-blood to me - both remained a sort of hazy, dreamlike creatures. The bohemian lifestyle of both does not help ward this sensation of the fantastical off. While the novel is clearly very well researched, it refuses to turn the lives of the sisters into a neat narrative like so many other autofiction does, but this might have gone somewhat at the cost of the eventual readability of the book and sympathy of the reader.
The start was a bit slow. The novel is written from Vanessa's perspective, in a style loosely resembling stream-of-consciousness. Since these are all memories, I initially had some trouble with the fragmented timeline, but this might also be due to my fragmented reading of the book. Once I got into it properly, I pretty much read half of it in two hours, going much more smoothly with the flow of the novel.
Eventually, both sisters have their problems as characters, and Sellers is not afraid to show them. However, despite the abundance of detail and inner world of Vanessa, they never truly became flesh-and-blood to me - both remained a sort of hazy, dreamlike creatures. The bohemian lifestyle of both does not help ward this sensation of the fantastical off. While the novel is clearly very well researched, it refuses to turn the lives of the sisters into a neat narrative like so many other autofiction does, but this might have gone somewhat at the cost of the eventual readability of the book and sympathy of the reader.
February 8, 2017
If you are interested in the Bloomsbury group, then you may find Susan Sellers novel manages to evoke what growing up as Virginia Woolf's sister might have been like and the craziness that surrounded the brilliant minds that frequented the Stephen household. Sellers shows her devotion and love for the Stephen sisters and strives to give Vanessa a voice of her own.
While the historical setting is well done and I enjoyed recognizing some characters—such as Leonard Woolf and Stephen Fry, I find that Sellers tried too much to emulate some of Virginia's modernist style of writing. The narrator seems sometimes at pains to weave the story she wants to tell that it becomes difficult to maintain the readership pact with her. It was moving to see how much Sellers seems to care about Vanessa Bell, but I'm not so sure about the execution of the novel as a novel. Maybe this could have worked better as a semi fictional biography? However, I enjoyed the novel and enjoyed the attempt at giving Vanessa a written voice of her own.
While the historical setting is well done and I enjoyed recognizing some characters—such as Leonard Woolf and Stephen Fry, I find that Sellers tried too much to emulate some of Virginia's modernist style of writing. The narrator seems sometimes at pains to weave the story she wants to tell that it becomes difficult to maintain the readership pact with her. It was moving to see how much Sellers seems to care about Vanessa Bell, but I'm not so sure about the execution of the novel as a novel. Maybe this could have worked better as a semi fictional biography? However, I enjoyed the novel and enjoyed the attempt at giving Vanessa a written voice of her own.
September 8, 2016
Vanessa Bell ja Virginia Wolf - mikä kaksikko. Susan Sellers on kirjoittanut heistä sielukkaan kirjan. Vanessa on minä ja Virginia sinä. Vaikka moneen vuoteen ei ole minää ilman sinää, ärsyynnyn kuitenkin hieman siitä, ettei kirjan nimeksi riittänyt vain Vanessa. Kyllä Vanessalla oli oma elämä ja se oli kiinnostava ihan itsenään!
Mutta ei ollut naisten elämänä helppoa sata vuotta sitten, ennen ja jälkeen. Ehkä siksi Virginian Oma huone oli niin hieno manifesti - siitä ei puhuta mitään tässä kirjassa. Sen sijaan taloudesta kyllä, ja toimeentulon vaikeudesta. Äitiydestä ja ihmissuhteiden monimutkaisuudesta. Sekä taiteesta, maalaustaiteesta ja kirjallisuudesta. Sekä tunteista, monenlaisista.
Sellers luo hienoja hetkeä. Pysäyttää lukijan mennen tullen. Kyllä koskettaa.
Ja miksi ihmeessä en ole lukenut Virginiaa vuosiin? Nyt äkkiä kirjastoon!
Mutta ei ollut naisten elämänä helppoa sata vuotta sitten, ennen ja jälkeen. Ehkä siksi Virginian Oma huone oli niin hieno manifesti - siitä ei puhuta mitään tässä kirjassa. Sen sijaan taloudesta kyllä, ja toimeentulon vaikeudesta. Äitiydestä ja ihmissuhteiden monimutkaisuudesta. Sekä taiteesta, maalaustaiteesta ja kirjallisuudesta. Sekä tunteista, monenlaisista.
Sellers luo hienoja hetkeä. Pysäyttää lukijan mennen tullen. Kyllä koskettaa.
Ja miksi ihmeessä en ole lukenut Virginiaa vuosiin? Nyt äkkiä kirjastoon!
September 3, 2010
This writing and imaginative retelling of the story of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf was gorgeous. I enjoyed how the author played with possible sources of inspiration for some of Woolf's work. And the portrayal of sibling rivalry rang truer than any I've read recently. But--not the author's fault--this is a depressing story. I had to read it in little pieces, because I couldn't take the intensity of the sadness--something Vanessa and Virginia had trouble with too. Certainly not a biography, but an imaginative retelling of two people whose lives often end up in very stuffy biographies.
October 5, 2011
The writing in this book intentionally mimics Virginia Woolf's stream of consciousness, redolent with imagery style. I am not sure I would have gotten much out of it if I wasn't already quite familiar with the lives of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell and their associated circle and able to pick up on the events and people referenced.
I really could have done without the suggestion of incest between Vanessa and Virginia. I do not believe that the historical record convincingly indicates this ever occurred and I think the suggestion of it added a distasteful, sensationalised note to what was otherwise a fairly inoffensive, not unreadable pastiche.
I really could have done without the suggestion of incest between Vanessa and Virginia. I do not believe that the historical record convincingly indicates this ever occurred and I think the suggestion of it added a distasteful, sensationalised note to what was otherwise a fairly inoffensive, not unreadable pastiche.
September 14, 2009
I'm very fond of the Bloomsbury group period so love biographies and any representation of the group members. Virginia, is, of course Virginia Woolf, and Vanessa is her sister Vanessa Bell.
Using vignettes portrayed from Vanessa's point of view, the author explores their close but competitive relationship. Their bohemian lives seem generally unhappy but they both have a strong drive toward expressing their individual creativity that matters more than anything else including husbands and children.
Using vignettes portrayed from Vanessa's point of view, the author explores their close but competitive relationship. Their bohemian lives seem generally unhappy but they both have a strong drive toward expressing their individual creativity that matters more than anything else including husbands and children.
July 23, 2013
This novel about Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf's relationship is something like an impressionist painting--told in lyrical vignettes, moving back and forth across time. The novel focuses on Vanessa's life, her art, her lovers, her children and, at its core, her troubled relationship with Virginia. They compete, they love one another, they are each other's best friends and worst critics.
Sellers made a wise choice in having Vanessa as her narrator: she is able to reveal Virginia and her well-known life through the lens of Vanessa, offering a sharp and sorrowful portrait of two sisters.
Sellers made a wise choice in having Vanessa as her narrator: she is able to reveal Virginia and her well-known life through the lens of Vanessa, offering a sharp and sorrowful portrait of two sisters.
October 6, 2013
Vanessa & Virginia tells the strange and moving story of Vanessa Bell, painter and elder sister of Virginia Woolf. Though it's beautifully set against fascinating backdrop of Bloomsbury, it's actually a fictional account, told as a kind of memoir or diary written by Vanessa, exploring the strong affection and fierce jealousies between herself and her sister.
Vanessa's struggles as a lover, mother and artist make for a powerful, unpredictable and extremely moving read. And the writing is beautiful and haunting, lingering long in the mind. A book of great emotional power. Highly recommended!
Vanessa's struggles as a lover, mother and artist make for a powerful, unpredictable and extremely moving read. And the writing is beautiful and haunting, lingering long in the mind. A book of great emotional power. Highly recommended!
July 25, 2009
Brilliant, talented, and competitive, Bloomsbury artist Vanessa Bell and her famous sister Virginia Woolf have always been friends and rivals. Here chronicled in Sellers' languid, lyrical prose is the impressionistic tribute Vanessa pays to her sister, containing the memories and moments that constitute a shared life. Bursting with sensuous colour and ripe language, this is a book to delight the senses, and to savour.
January 14, 2010
I enjoyed every page of this rich novel of vignettes, told from the (fictional) point of view of Vanessa Bell, to Virginia Woolf, in elegy. I did not care for the very last sentence, but that feeling stands in sharp contrast to my reception of the rest-- evidenced by several dozen dog eared pages, which I marked in order to savor all over again. I see a good many negative reviews on Goodreads and I'm surprised by that.
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