Night and Day by Virginia Woolf

This is the last Virginia Woolf novel I hadn't read before (but then rereading her is an unparalleled delight too), and I had been postponing reading it for about three years just to have a novel by her I had not yet read. It's her second novel, so she's still developing her style, which I wasn't prepared for. My first impression was that it was clunky and unwieldy, almost Victorian, but once I got into it, I loved it as usual. I cannot convey how much I adore and enjoy Virginia Woolf, so it's pointless to try. It was really fascinating to watch how her distinctive style unfolds. Her bizarre and beautiful imagery is not as bold as it is in later novels, but stunning nevertheless. I think my favourite part is the sharp disconnect between the actions of characters and their inner lives. All the action feels melodramatic, almost forced, as though the curtain has just risen on an elaborately set stage, but the emotional states of the characters feel unbelievably real and vivid. I loved how communication is constantly impossible; the impression that I got was of all the characters shouting at one another through a thick sheet of glass and constantly frustrated because they cannot make themselves heard. Overall, even though it wasn't what I was waiting for, I adored it. Of course.