Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.46 You Save: $10.54 (81%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Mrs. Dalloway
Book Review: Definitely Stream of Conciseness Writing
Summary: 3 Stars
This book gives a good look at post-WWI life in British society; however, this book is not for those who do not like stream of conciseness writing.Book Review: Didn't like it...
Summary: 2 Stars
I enjoy reading classics, give me Thomas Hardy or Charles Dickens anyday, but I did not find the characters in this book engaging at all. I could not stand the snobbish attitude of Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway and that of Lady Burton. It seems I am in the minority here when I say that I positively find this book superficial.Book Review: Difficult and Dull
Summary: 2 Stars
I suppose there are two types of people in this world: those who appreciate VW's work and those who feel her words were best left within her own mind. I fall into the second category.I bought and read this book as a precursor to "The Hours." While I would highly recommend reading this book before "The Hours" I will also admit that I found it difficult to get through and dull as old rain water.
I think what bothered me the most was the stream of consciousness writing. It's hard to really follow where VW was taking this story, and well, exactly WHY. Also, there are no chapters, and I personally find that a more difficult read. On top of these things, VW switches from one character's perception to another, leaving the reader wondering just who is doing what and necessitating a re-read to figure out just what happened to the character one was reading about and who this new character is.
The weird thing to me was, it seemed as though one could almost feel/read the disorganization and distortion that was perhaps VW's mental illness.
I know there are many books which have been deemed "classic" by some literary force but which people in modern day can't figure out exactly why. This is one of those books. It's reputation does not live up to its actuality. If you plan on reading "The Hours" this book should precede it. Otherwise, find something more engaging.
Book Review: Difficult, but Wonderful Novel!
Summary: 5 Stars
Admittedly, many will find Woolf's dense prose difficult to comprehend, and honestly, I was initially no exception. I had attempted Woolf's greatest work twice before I picked it up yet again just two days ago. On previous attempts I became lost in the language, and entirely lost as to any discernable plot. Perhaps I'm just bull headed, but if so many people considered this work a classic, I must simply be missing something, so on this attempt, I came in prepared. Some may consider it cheating, but on this reading, I prepared by perusing a summery of the work before beginning to gain a basic knowledge of the work's plot, and I have to say, it did the trick for me.
Being well aware of the bare structure of the novel, I was left to concentrate on the sheer poetry that is Woolf's language. I found once I got my foot in the door (that is once I read the first 15 pages or so and adjusted to Woolf's prose and use of long running sentences) I simply loved it, and could not get enough of Clarissa and the rest of her world!
I suppose another road block for many readers may be the clear depth of Woolf's observations within the novel. One must realize, Woolf is less concerned with the present action of the novel than what that action causes in the mind of her characters, and this is simply an arrangement I believe many readers have not previously encountered, and therefore condemn the novel, not seeing the genius of the tome, and Virginia Woolf herself.
Despite the confusion some readers may find in Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway subsequently, the novel given its due is worth every moment of effort, and the reader I find will be well rewarded, I know I was!
Book Review: Do yourself a favor . . . read this book + The Hours:
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd tried Virginia Woolf several times, but bogged down (I'm not alone in this, I suspect). Then the film, "The Hours", moved me to try again . . . I have just finished reading (in this order) Mrs. Dalloway and Michael Cunningham's "The Hours." DO YOURSELF THIS FAVOR! You'll become acutely aware of the skilful interweaving of themes . . . Clarissa and the other characters take on deeper facets . . . details that may have tired you, or slipped by, in Woolf will take on new shape and meaning.
And above all, the language . . . I'm not going to go into plot, characterization, symbolism, etc. -- When you're dealing with a classic, such things are readily available, and I'm not a scholar of English literature.
Suffice to say, I have come from this reading experience feeling refreshed and renewed -- and enormously impressed. A great way to enter a hectic season.
(Why not give the two books as a gift?)