A review by bledoux
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
4.0
I have to admit I have no idea what to rate this book or even how to feel.
(Its defitnely not a 5 or a 2 but 3 seems too low and 4 seems too high. If I were to get technical I'd give it a 3.75 but that's so obnoxious so a 4 it is)
I did enjoy it, more than I expected to, and at times I was really invested and intrigued with Woolf's writing and the style but then at other times I was either lost, bored, or just confused so it was a drag to get through. I understand why this is a classic piece of literature and can appreciate that. It was the first of it's kind to be published.
The entire book follows Clarissa and Septimus during one day in London. Clarissa is throwing a party, as she often does, and so you follow her as she buys flowers and meets friends and old friends. With Septimus we follow him as he walks through the town with his wife and when they get home (trying not to spoil anything so it sounds very vague). What's intriguing about the book however is the way Woolf dives into the minds and lives of everyone we come across in the book, along with Clarissa and Septimus. She goes into every single person that either character comes in contact with. We are thrown into their minds and we get a better understanding of who they are and the lives they live. Its also just a case study on the English life during post Wolrd War 1.
I don't know how to explain Woolfs writing, you have to read it for yourself to understand the style.
A lot of critic I see about this book is how boring it is and how nothing happens and on the surface that is correct. I think that is a fair judgement but the book doesnt try to be anything other than the day in the mind of people and the culture of the time. It's a stream of consciousness style and I quite enjoyed it. And events do take place, they just aren't action packed or fantastical.
It did take me about 50 pages to get used to her writing and understand what was even happening but once you get into it and are able to be emersed in the writing it's truly a great experience. This was my first Virginia Woolf book and I definitely want to try reading some more.
(Its defitnely not a 5 or a 2 but 3 seems too low and 4 seems too high. If I were to get technical I'd give it a 3.75 but that's so obnoxious so a 4 it is)
I did enjoy it, more than I expected to, and at times I was really invested and intrigued with Woolf's writing and the style but then at other times I was either lost, bored, or just confused so it was a drag to get through. I understand why this is a classic piece of literature and can appreciate that. It was the first of it's kind to be published.
The entire book follows Clarissa and Septimus during one day in London. Clarissa is throwing a party, as she often does, and so you follow her as she buys flowers and meets friends and old friends. With Septimus we follow him as he walks through the town with his wife and when they get home (trying not to spoil anything so it sounds very vague). What's intriguing about the book however is the way Woolf dives into the minds and lives of everyone we come across in the book, along with Clarissa and Septimus. She goes into every single person that either character comes in contact with. We are thrown into their minds and we get a better understanding of who they are and the lives they live. Its also just a case study on the English life during post Wolrd War 1.
I don't know how to explain Woolfs writing, you have to read it for yourself to understand the style.
A lot of critic I see about this book is how boring it is and how nothing happens and on the surface that is correct. I think that is a fair judgement but the book doesnt try to be anything other than the day in the mind of people and the culture of the time. It's a stream of consciousness style and I quite enjoyed it. And events do take place, they just aren't action packed or fantastical.
It did take me about 50 pages to get used to her writing and understand what was even happening but once you get into it and are able to be emersed in the writing it's truly a great experience. This was my first Virginia Woolf book and I definitely want to try reading some more.