Adeline

It is perhaps not surprising that Vincent (Self-Made Man), whose nonfiction has dealt with issues of gender and mental illness, should choose as the topic of this novel the life and death of Virginia Woolf. Specifically, the novel focuses on a handful of scenes from the last 15 years of Woolf’s life, exploring not only Woolf’s complicated relationship with her own creative process but also the intricate and fraught entanglements of the Bloomsbury Group. Central to Vincent’s imagined version of Woolf’s later years are the consequences of the author’s troubled childhood and its implications for her close relationships, including her sister, Vanessa. Here, much of Woolf’s depression and anxiety is linked to her childhood self—and her given name, Adeline—with whom Woolf has a pivotal imaginary conversation that haunts her to the end. This exchange is skillfully rendered and emotionally insightful, leading Vincent’s novel to its somber conclusion. (Apr.)