Rating: 
Summary: Simply Beautiful
Review: This IS literature at its best. There is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said rather eloquently by the first review of this book, 'Stitched Seams of Color, Subjectless, and Brilliant,' January 17, 1998 Reviewer: A reader from Deerfield, Massachusetts, so go read that one. The other reviews were too superficial; futile exercises in trying to describe a plot that is not there. Woolf is remarkable. This novel is a reflection of Woolf.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It
Review: This is the first Virginia Woolf book I've read and I can see why she is ranked as a great writer. Her writing is very dense and the prose reads like poetry. She writes Jacob's Room in the stream of consciousness style, like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. The stream tends to meander all over the lot, so just go with the flow. The reader hears snippets of conversation and characters come and go. We learn about Jacob Flanders, but in little bits, here and there, the way you learn about people in real life. The reader never knows what's going on inside Jacob's head. You observe Jacob the way you would in real life: from the outside. Size him up for yourself. The novel is set around World War I and Jacob Flanders (FLANDERS, as in Flanders' Field--World War I's killing field) is one of that Lost Generation. The novel is dark, questioning the futility of life, but the language is beautiful and the emotion is stabbingly true. Definitely read it, but have something more chipper around to read afterward, lest you brood too much.
Rating:
Summary: 9
Review: This was the first book by Virginia Woolf I read, and it remains my favorite. The language vacillates between normal prose and near-poetry; the narrator remains fairly distant throughout, offering the reader a great deal of insight without much emotional baggage. It is not, however, something you should read on the bus or on a plane; this book requires time, effort, and a certain calmness of mind before you can begin to understand and appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Meet Virginia
Review: This was the first book by Virginia Woolf I read, and it remains my favorite. The language vacillates between normal prose and near-poetry; the narrator remains fairly distant throughout, offering the reader a great deal of insight without much emotional baggage. It is not, however, something you should read on the bus or on a plane; this book requires time, effort, and a certain calmness of mind before you can begin to understand and appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: 9
Review: Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite authors and Jacob's Room is my second favortie Woolf book (The Waves being the first). Jacob's Room is the highly impressionistic story of Jacob Flanders, a character based on Woolf's own brother. This is a coming-of-age story as we follow Jacob from the rocky coasts of Cornwall to the sun-drenched shores of Greece. Anyone looking for a conventional story or plot won't find it here. Jacob's Room is Virginia Woolf during a highly experimental stage; a stage during which she was developing her pure stream-of-consciousness style. Jacob's Room is for very "literary" readers. This is definitely not light and fluffy and it's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Those who love good literature, however, will find Jacob's Room a pure poetic masterpiece of the highest order.
Rating:
Summary: Life in impressions
Review: Woolf's experimental novel is the life of Jacob Flanders as told through the impressions he has on other people. By using this style, she explores the notions of existence, permanence, and the effects of civilization on sensitive individuals. One can easily see the influence this experiment had on her later works, chiefly "Mrs Dalloway" and "To the Lighthouse". I find Woolf's works captivating, and this book no less so. Like an impressionist painting, the story is left for the reader to piece together to envision the larger, full-scale impact for her-/himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Woolf's first experimental novel
Review: _Jacob's Room_ marks Virginia Woolf first truly experimental novel. It follows the elusive figure of Jacob Flanders, from his boyhood to college and finally off to the Great War. It is a novel where plot and typical "defining" events are irrelevant. This is not a story about who dies, who lives, who loves, or who hates. This is a novel about interiority, about the effect Jacob has on those he meets. It is interesting to note that the character of Jacob Flanders was (in part) based upon Virginia Woolf's own brother, Thoby Stephen, who died quite young. While it is dangerous to overread the connection between Jacob and Thoby, it's highly probably that part of the novel's elegaic tone comes from it. Woolf's prose is typically lyrical, and she depends heavily upon interior monologue and stream-of-consciousness writing. It's not an easy novel to read, especially Woolf novices, but I think fans of modern fiction will find the experience worthwhile. Better introductions to Woolf's works are _Mrs. Dalloway_ and _To the Lighthouse_.
Rating:
Summary: Woolf's first experimental novel
Review: _Jacob's Room_ marks Virginia Woolf first truly experimental novel. It follows the elusive figure of Jacob Flanders, from his boyhood to college and finally off to the Great War. It is a novel where plot and typical "defining" events are irrelevant. This is not a story about who dies, who lives, who loves, or who hates. This is a novel about interiority, about the effect Jacob has on those he meets. It is interesting to note that the character of Jacob Flanders was (in part) based upon Virginia Woolf's own brother, Thoby Stephen, who died quite young. While it is dangerous to overread the connection between Jacob and Thoby, it's highly probably that part of the novel's elegaic tone comes from it. Woolf's prose is typically lyrical, and she depends heavily upon interior monologue and stream-of-consciousness writing. It's not an easy novel to read, especially Woolf novices, but I think fans of modern fiction will find the experience worthwhile. Better introductions to Woolf's works are _Mrs. Dalloway_ and _To the Lighthouse_.
| 
