Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Mrs. Dalloway

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

330 reviews

fa1th_'s review against another edition

4.0

emotional 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

At the end of 2021 I could I finally said that I've read Virginia Woolf.

I've always wanted to start reading Woolf's work and this was the first one I've picked. The first thing I've noticed was the 'stream of consciousness' writing style, it was very free-flowing and I guess it was a staple of her work. I was in awe of how she could describe a person's thoughts with such natural ease, hopping from one character to the next, exploring each of their minds. Woolf had a sharp wit and some of the things she wrote in this novel were quite poignant. The way she discussed marriage and human relationships and the aftermath of the war with satirical truth, it was all very interesting. Mrs. Dalloway was an intriguing character, she was a mid-aged upper-class housewife with the seemingly perfect family, yet she kept wondering what could have happened if she did not marry Mr. Dalloway. Many characters of this novel spent time wondering a similar 'what if', reminiscing their good old days, trying to remember their lost youth, debating with time. It seemed like every character in the novel had some struggles with time, they were either catching up to it, speeding pass it, or already lost to it, which made the writing of interchanging inner dialogues all the more fitting.

Compared with Clarissa's idle and privileged day, the story of Septimus Smith was more tragic and grounded in tone. Woolf used two very different main characters (both in social class and in physical standings) to demonstrate and criticize the treatment and stigma of mental illness of that time, and it was really heartbroken to read about. Connecting with the author's personal life, I could see how the comment on medical discourses from professionals and outsiders might stem from her own experience or inner frustrations, since Woolf struggled with bipolar disorder as well. However, some parts of the story seemed kind of convoluted with random details from minor characters of no importance, and I was getting bored while reading. Also I must say, why did Elizabeth have 'oriental eyes' and why did they have to say that she looked 'Chinese' because uh, what was the reason? Wish it was left out but it was 1920s England, so I guess the novel was a product of its time.

All that being said, it was surely a beautifully written story, and I'm glad that I've finally read it.

Content Warnings

sofipitch's review against another edition

4.5

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I have picked up this book a couple of times but the stream of conciousness style and constantly changing cast of characters made it hard to follow. I listen to it via audiobook and absolutely loved it. Especially with the man with PTSD and his wife. It's amazing how 100 years later and things are still very much the same in healthcare. The audiobook also had different ppl narrating for each character, which made it easier to follow. I'd give this book 5 stars but given how much I needed the audiobook for comprehension I knocked off half a star.

Content Warnings

veloskyraptor's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Content Warnings

kenzer's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Gosh this is stunning

Content Warnings

ahlove's review against another edition

3.5

when people said woolf was difficult to read, i did not believe them until i started reading mrs. dalloway! felt like i had cotton stuffed into my brain for the majority of the book, especially the first ten to thirty pages. woolf wrote the thoughts of each character so seamlessly, you'll hardly notice you're reading a different perspective at all! which is what makes it so challenging and confusing! this, combined with the fact that all references of the story's setting seemed to have flown over my head (as a non-westerner), resulted in me having to use a little (a lot) of help (thank you sparknotes). that said, i think i'll still pick up some of woolf's major works (really looking forward until i have the courage to pick up the waves), just not now nor in the next six to twelve months.

Content Warnings