Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mrs. Dalloway

"It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning."

I always had a very interesting relationship with Virginia Woolf. I usually don't gravitate toward modern authors (I'm a classicist at heart). And I don't particularly agree with some things that Woolf said about English classic authors. But, I do believe in the separation between art and artist (with some nuance), and this book constantly appears in those lists of books that you should read, at least, once in your life. So when I had the opportunity to buy this book, I decided to give it a try.

I have to say that this was a challenge. The first two times I tried to read this book I had to DNF it because I couldn't understand what was happening. To me, it was a boring book when nothing happened. And for a couple of years, I had given up on Woolf. But then, I decided to give this book another chance. The third time's the charm, right? And if I can read books with 800 pages, I could read a book with less than 200 pages! But this time I decided to read the book with the help of an audiobook.

This isn't an easy book. There's not much in terms of a plot and the narrative focuses on the characters and their internal conflicts. The story doesn't have a payoff and the ending leaves you with more questions than answers. There's a constant back and forward between the present and the past, that might take some time to get used to. And to make matters worse, although the writing style is beautiful, almost poetic, it can be very hard to follow.

So, why do I like this book? The answer is simple: the characters. I loved the characters and their internal demons and conflicts. And although there's not much of a plot, halfway I realize that Mrs. Dalloway is a tragic love story. Every character has suffered or is suffering from a tragic love. And that suffering shapes the way characters think and act. There are a lot of parallels between characters that never met and, even so, those characters have an impact on each other. At heart, Mrs. Dalloway isn't a story about how society shapes the individual, but how the individual falls victim to society.

In addition to the existential issues, this story also deals with mental health, bisexuality, and feminism (that's why this book was so controversial when it was first published). And using these themes, Woof manages to shape the character's interior conflicts and built the society (that is at war with itself) around them.

So you can say that I reconciled with Woolf. And I do recommend this book. It's a beautifully written, thought-provoking book, that can be a bit hard to follow but don't give up. If you can't read it by yourself, try with an audiobook. You won't regret it.

Content Warnings

closet_bibliophile's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I'd like to start by saying I get a lot of inspiration from Virginia Woolf, her style of writting and the vivid real images she manages to portray through her writting are magnificent and incredibly moving.

That said, reading this book felt like putting myself through purgatory. The writting style, constantly ebbing and flowing from place and thing and character, is remarkably similar to the way my brain likes to function and so it took the writting in this book as a distraction manual. Time lost all meaning as my mind meandered through topics not even slightly related to the writting and when I snapped back into it I'd realised I read over 10 pages in a haze and have to figure out when I'd zoned out.

In the rare moments of clarity when I could read (and only read), it was really a pleasant experience.

Content Warnings

georgiaaaaa's review against another edition

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challenging relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This is my second time reading this book, and it is still one of my favourite reads of all time. Call me corny, but this is the book that changed how I look at expression and writing in fiction. The prose, almost water-like, flows through London over the course of one day, exploring lost loves, failures, mental illness, and the effects of colonialism and WWI. Each stream-of-conscious phrase is made with tenderly chosen words, full of Woolf's poigniant observance that makes the world almost painful to observe. It is a female-centred novel, with snippets of monologs from women of all different classes peppered throughout the unconventional narrative. I am forever impressed by how many threads Woolf manages to pack into one story, from the death of the old order to female agency in a metropolitan environment. There are so many little details to work out, and yet the whole thing glides so smoothly along that you don't want to stop reading! It's not for everyone, especially those who don't like the Modernists, but it takes my breath away every time I read it. I think if you're interested, give it a shot! It certainly can't hurt! (Check the content warnings though).

Content Warnings

itsheyfay'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Content Warnings

grboph's review against another edition

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reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.75

I am very glad I read this book. While I did find large parts of it boring, since I have never been much of a fan of books without a lot of plot or character development, I really enjoyed the deep dives into each of the characters' histories and all of the messages contained in the story. I really liked how time and mental illness played a large role (especially since mental illness was something that was so stigmatized at the time this book was published) and I think it also has a lot of valuable things to say about the role of women in society, especially in relation to the roles of men. I also loved that since there was a very slow pace and no real plot, we got to spend a lot of time with each character and really find out what makes them tick, even if they only played a very minor role in the actual events of the story. Because of these things, I gave the book a fairly high rating even though I tend to prefer books that are faster-paced than this one and have more of a plot. Still, I am very happy to have read it and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something introspective or philosophical to read.

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