Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mrs. Dalloway

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

21 reviews

potterpav's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

2.0

never in my 21 years of existence have i read a book that is as slow as this one. if i wasn't reading it for a mandatory uni class, i would've dropped it after maybe 15 pages. if you deal with scattered or unpredictable thought patterns, this book feels like it's putting you on blast because reading the sentence subject change midway through with no indication, to a name that has never been mentioned before and will never be mentioned again, is so jarring that it makes a 180 page book feel like 500. i'm so sorry virginia babe, you had some really beautiful sentences in the midst of it, but it wasn't enough to make this book enjoyable at all. also the only interesting character in the entire novel died at the point where i was already wanting to rip all my hair out, so you can imagine my dismay. i wish we got to find out more of the fallout of that, but whatever. i'll never forget you peter walsh, you would've loved 'so long, london' by taylor swift

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teeclecticreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad

3.5

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itsradsmads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

3.0

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!

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hollystopreading's review against another edition

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dark reflective relaxing sad 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

4.5

Very “yellow wallpaper” esque with lots of tangents, metaphors and analogy’s. You get flung into different people’s minds sporadically throughout the book. Short yet very dense, no chapter breaks.

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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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