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jasmineandsweetbriar's review against another edition
inspiring
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
It was perfectly executed in my opinion, with all the odd ends it needed to add to a sense of profound loss. The acceptance of death towards the end -- how sad!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Classism
hollystopreading's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
diana_raquel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
"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.
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
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is the first Woolf that I've read, although "A Room of One's Own" has been sitting on my Audible shelf since last September. And I have seen "The Hours", although that was over a decade ago (back when Amazon Prime was LoveFilm), so I had some idea of the atmosphere/story.
What I didn't expect going in is that the narrative doesn't stay with one character.
Because I knew it was stream-of-consciousness, I assumed it would be first-person perspective and sticking faithfully to one character. Instead, it has this slightly odd third-person-adjacent perspective; we're not quite in the character's heads, we're travelling alongside them, but we can peek into their thoughts as we might look into a fish-tank.
Basically, it's a slice of life(s) – which I often love – but I don't see the point here.
Jane Austen's immortal quote about "Emma" seems more appropriate for this novel and "Mrs Dalloway" lacks the redeeming feature of a plot.
What I didn't expect going in is that the narrative doesn't stay with one character.
Because I knew it was stream-of-consciousness, I assumed it would be first-person perspective and sticking faithfully to one character. Instead, it has this slightly odd third-person-adjacent perspective; we're not quite in the character's heads, we're travelling alongside them, but we can peek into their thoughts as we might look into a fish-tank.
Basically, it's a slice of life(s) – which I often love – but I don't see the point here.
Jane Austen's immortal quote about "Emma" seems more appropriate for this novel and "Mrs Dalloway" lacks the redeeming feature of a plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Suicide
lynleybidlake's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Racial slurs and Xenophobia
Minor: Colonisation
possiblyeve's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
‘Cleverness was silly. One must say simply what one felt.
“But I do not know,” said Peter Walsh, “what I feel.” ‘
Virginia Woolf is so good at writing thoughts - she just captures the drifting of the mind so perfectly. this book was so simple and different, following the characters’ thoughts and memories through a single day. there’s something so tender and human about the writing in this book, so full of ordinary contradictions and mundane excitement.
“But I do not know,” said Peter Walsh, “what I feel.” ‘
Virginia Woolf is so good at writing thoughts - she just captures the drifting of the mind so perfectly. this book was so simple and different, following the characters’ thoughts and memories through a single day. there’s something so tender and human about the writing in this book, so full of ordinary contradictions and mundane excitement.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs