Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Mrs. Dalloway
Book Review: A summer's day in London
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is fabulous. The way it portrays time passing is incredible, you feel as if you are experiencing a day in London after the first World War. The way Woolf shifts the narrative from one person to the next is done very well. The book is very short in length, and is easier to read than Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and is much shorter than Remembrances of Things Past, so thus would be a nice introduction to stream of consciousness writing.Book Review: A well written novel but I lost interest in it.
Summary: 3 Stars
Probably because Ms. Woolf did too much TELLING and not enough SHOWING. Maybe that's why the novel is so thin. For a better representation of 20th century literature, read Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury," and Salinger's "The Catcher in a Rye." The reason I bought "Mrs. Dalloway" was because I enjoyed Cunningham's "The Hours." What a disappointment.Book Review: A wonderful evocation of London.
Summary: 5 Stars
Although I know that this book is a masterpiece of literature I liked it very much. I'm living in London now and found this book to be a wonderful evocation of the sights, sounds, and smells of the city--Westminster, Whitehall, Belgravia, Regents Park, etc., etc.-- especially as they must have been in the 20s. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what London is and was like.Book Review: ALL IN ONE DAY
Summary: 5 Stars
Devoid of form and convention Virginia Woolf crafts a portrait of individual's consciousness in MRS. DALLOWAY. Gaining popularity after it's portrayal in Michael Cunningham's THE HOURS, MRS. DALLOWAY continues to be a classic in the many decades since it's original publication. Set in London in June 1923 Woolf creates an intriguing mix of characters. As Clarissa Dalloway is busy preparing for a party in the evening the narration cohesively jumps to Peter Walsh, her lover from years past. The reader also meets Sally Seton (her childhood friend), Elizabeth (Clarissa's daughter), Richard Dalloway (Clarissa's husband) and Septimus Warren Smith (a man suffering from shell shock from WW1) among others. Lack of action is fully compensated by the extraction of the inner workings of the character's consciousness. This aspect makes this book a success. We learn about their passions, guilt, anger, and loneliness. Transitions from one character to the next are seamless without losing the narration's flow. Especially admirable are the transitions occurring between strangers passing each other in Reagent's Park. I must admit that MRS DALLOWAY is not easy accessible as Woolf's prose can be convoluted and confusing to some readers. But I beg those who are struggling with this book to hang on. The ride can be difficult but the message is profound.Book Review: Absolutely Breath-taking
Summary: 5 Stars
I am relatively new to Virginia Woolf,but I have seen and loved The Hours and so I was well aquainted with Mrs.Dalloway and how she bought the flowers herself.
From the moment I saw the cover in a bookstore I was under Virginia's spell. She is truly one of the greatest writers of all time.
The story is magnificent in it's simplicity: a single day in a woman's life.
The truthfullness in which she renders not only her charactures but every person one passes in the street after reading her is terribly beautiful.
I am dissapointed in mankind when I see that the average rating is four stars. It shows their shallowness because they cannot understand.
Please read this book.It is larger than life.