Vincent, Norah

This beautifully written and penetrating re-creation of the life of a feminist icon will appeal to anyone with a passing interest in Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of both Woolf's brilliance and her suffering and may be inspired to revisit her writings.

The author has constructed an involving if occasionally overwrought story. The depiction of depraved excesses, along with some of the neighbors' more bizarre behavior, provides a vivid and warped background as the novel delves into the characters' motivations and emotions with empathy and acuity. [See Prepub Alert, 2/5/12.]