Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have never before read such a ✨chaotic✨ book in my life. Mrs Dalloway was my first Virginia Woolf read. It was definitely a challenge for me to get used to the narrative voice. There are an incredibly large amount of time jumps, pov switches, (so many parenthesis) and all of this without a single chapter break and with the action taking place in one day. It was a lot y’all. 👀
However, once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed how well executed the story actually is. Very self reflective and unexpectedly progressive for the time, this book addresses queerness, sexuality and criticizes the way mental illness (specially depression) was mistreated at the time.
I was a bit confused at the abrupt ending but then I found out that this book is actually created from two short stories and one was never fully finished.
I am kind of flabbergasted tbh. As someone who has dealt with depression, Mrs. W did an amazing job🤌 capturing the claustrophobic feeling of sadness. She knew what she was talking about. A 5 star read for me no doubt.
Lessons learned,
- “It is a thousand pities never to say what one feels.” This.
- Whilst reading about miserable posh people, I felt grateful of my life and the little moments of happiness that are often overlooked.
- Treat your friends with honesty and kindness PLEASE! Don't judge people too harshly, you will also make mistakes bitch, be kind 🙄
notes
- While researching for this book I learned that Virginia Woolf killed herself and I must say that as sad as that is (after reading this book and getting a pretty good picture of what was in her mind) her suicide note has to be the most beautiful piece of farewell prose I have ever read 🥺 RIP Mrs.W, thanks for your wisdom and sorry for your suffering.
- *120 pages in* This is so sad, I don’t know if I can finish it.
- *as soon as Lucrezia appears* I think I would be good friends with Rezia.
However, once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed how well executed the story actually is. Very self reflective and unexpectedly progressive for the time, this book addresses queerness, sexuality and criticizes the way mental illness (specially depression) was mistreated at the time.
I was a bit confused at the abrupt ending but then I found out that this book is actually created from two short stories and one was never fully finished.
I am kind of flabbergasted tbh. As someone who has dealt with depression, Mrs. W did an amazing job🤌 capturing the claustrophobic feeling of sadness. She knew what she was talking about. A 5 star read for me no doubt.
Lessons learned,
- “It is a thousand pities never to say what one feels.” This.
- Whilst reading about miserable posh people, I felt grateful of my life and the little moments of happiness that are often overlooked.
- Treat your friends with honesty and kindness PLEASE! Don't judge people too harshly, you will also make mistakes bitch, be kind 🙄
notes
- While researching for this book I learned that Virginia Woolf killed herself and I must say that as sad as that is (after reading this book and getting a pretty good picture of what was in her mind) her suicide note has to be the most beautiful piece of farewell prose I have ever read 🥺 RIP Mrs.W, thanks for your wisdom and sorry for your suffering.
- *120 pages in* This is so sad, I don’t know if I can finish it.
- *as soon as Lucrezia appears* I think I would be good friends with Rezia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful and mind altering. Most of all, it seems perfect for a world that is emerging from turmoil and pandemic, as it was written after the end of WWI and the flu epidemic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Just enjoy the beautiful sentences and glimpses into minds at work; don't try to encompass the whole thing.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Racism, War
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Violence, War
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So I read half this book in summer 2020 when I kinda just got exhausted with a bunch of bullshit that was going on at the time, but my partner was an english student and we would talk about it a lot and the mantra "Fear no more the heat o' the sun, nor the furious winter's rages" became a mantra for our own constant suicidal ideation. We said it so much that our housemate (my now bf) made us a cross-stitch plaque of it, which we've hung up by the door in our new place. I explained how it's sort of an epithet for suicide to my mom when she visited and she said that was horrible. Idk; it makes me feel better about leaving the house on bad days. I guess this isn't really a review of the novel. Here you go: it's perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide