This book certainly requires more effort on the reader's side than many books, but it is well worth the effort. Woolf keeps up her half of the bargain by making effective use of the diffucult style; leading the reader with a purpose rather than pointless meandering. She explores the stream-of-conciousness style effectively, without going to the silly extreme that some other Modernist authors did. Her portrayal of mental illness strikes me as eerily realistic, especially when you take into account her own personal history.The way I attacked it was like this: I read it once as quick as I could, without stopping to figure it out, then read it again taking my time. In the end, I was rewarded with a cathartic experience.