Reviews with content warning for War - Mrs. Dalloway

I’m glad I gave this book a second chance! While it is often difficult keeping track of whose head we’re in, I got used to the style/flow after a while. It helped me to note down in the margin who was thinking or speaking. It’s difficulty, I think, is part of its charm. It kept me on my toes, revealing just enough to keep me guessing, but in a good way. Most of the characters felt very distinct from each other, but some of the one-line characters didn’t stick out to me...but then again, they weren’t supposed to. There is so much contained within the 24 hours over which the book takes place that it would be impossible to become familiar with every single person in much the same way it would be for you or me in my day-to-day life.

Why I’m giving it a 3 out of 5 comes down to the fact that this worth a read if you have the time and brain power to dedicate to following along with it. And there are no chapter breaks. And there are a lot of trigger warnings to be wary of!

Content Warnings

lrl06's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

So beautifully human. There are glimpses of everyone that you delve into at some point where you fully understand them. Clarissa with her perfectionism and love for life as well as Richard and Peter with their shyness that prevents them for showing their love. My main fascination was with Septimus' and Lucrezia's relationship and Rezia's thoughts on love.

Scenes and thoughts I found particularly interesting include Peter seeing Clarissa after coming back from India, Richard buying flowers, Rezia making a hat and the end where Peter and Sally conversate. It's a read that it quite difficult to get into but as you continue, it becomes something that you don't really need to fully understand and that just to appreciate is good enough.

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mary_lake's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i enjoyed this a lot more than i was expecting! a bit confusing and long winded at points but a supremely well written text (obviously!) which gives lots to think about.

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mmefish's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

"She wanted support. Not that she was weak; but she wanted support."

"So she made him think. (But he was not in love.)"

I appreciated it, I liked it at times, but I didn't love it (except the parts including Septimus; simply superb).

"They went to Hampton Court on top of a bus, and they were perfectly happy. All the little red and yellow flowers were out on the grass, like floating lamps he said, and talked and chattered and laughed, making up stories. Suddenly he said, 'Now we will kill ourselves,' when they were standing by the river[...]"

"It might be possible, Septimus thought, looking at England from the train window, as they left Newhaven; it might be possible that the world itself is without meaning."

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zomvi's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved the character work that Woolf employs, and the societal commentary and examination of mental health is brilliant! However, I wasn't a fan of the rambling stream-of-consciousness style in which it's written; I'm sure others will disagree, but it's just not a style I generally enjoy altogether. I recommend the Listen With Audrey audiobook edition specifically, as there is substantial extra material giving a lot of historical context and information on the author herself that greatly helped my understanding. There are some unfortunate references to POC, as well, but this is almost inevitable, sadly, given the time period, and in many other ways, this was an extremely progressive book. I was also not super clear on if it was just the characters themselves viewing them in that light, so perhaps I'm misjudging Woolf's perspective on that matter as well? Overall, I'm glad to have finally read such an influential author's work.

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bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wish I was the type of person who likes Virginia Woolf, but man, this was NOT my cup of tea.
I understand that the "stream of consciousness" writing style is deliberate, and at its best it does capture the nature of human thought very realistically, but it also makes the book excruciatingly slow and hard to get through. I'd say it eclipses the plot, except there isn't much of a plot to speak of, just the particularly unexciting daily chores of the main character and supporting cast.
I can see the appeal; there is a lot of insight into society and human nature on display, many thought-provoking quotes or striking sections, and even a genuinely great, devastating POV (that of Septimus, a WW1 veteran with depression and PTSD), but it never adds up to more than the sum of its parts to me. It never even really concludes, just stops.
Recommended if you like depressing repressed homoeroticism and wondering if your thoughts would also sound this self-centered and vapid to others if they were broadcasted 24/7.

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a_v_a9263's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

this is a beautiful book with an amazing writing style, Virginia Woolf thought so much I'm pretty sure she would've liked to write more, but this is one of the books without a plot so to speak it just follows the characters' lives.

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badhairduck's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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