Jacob's Room

Woolf's (Mrs. Dalloway) brilliant novel is a classic of modernism, that literary style that developed after World War I in opposition to classic novels that required a hero or heroine, major and minor characters, and an organized plotline. Like another, better-known modernist work, James Joyce's Ulysses, which was published around the same time, Jacob's Room is a disjointed ramble though various individuals' thoughts and actions. Through his or her described thoughts, each person who interacts with Jacob provides a significant glimpse of his or her own and Jacob's existence. However, these thoughts are frequently splintered and often not about Jacob at all. Juliet Stevenson gives a highly competent reading of a difficult-to-follow text. Even so, many listeners may find that an exceptional effort of concentration is required to appreciate this or any other modernist text in audio format.