Reviews

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

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subdue_provide75's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had read a different edition. Either because it was my second time reading the novel, and/or thanks to Emre's annotations, I think I got more out of it this time. And while it's still probably one of the best books I've ever read, I don't think I really enjoyed reading it this time. (The awkward physical dimensions of this particular edition may have contributed to this, actually.)

laralahoud113's review against another edition

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3.0

was quite a dry and slow read, may need to be reread later

becandthebooks's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Ummmmmmmmm.

I feel whiplash, I feel dumb, I feel confused.

Mrs Dalloway follows the day in the life of, well, Mrs Dalloway as she is planning a party. However, it also follows Septimus, a shell-shocked soldier dealing with PTSD.

I appreciated how a story written in the 1920's touched on topics that were rarely discussed - mental health and same sex love interests - however, I do feel like a lot of the commentary (particularly with Mrs Dalloway herself) quite often reflected upper class society and that this novel was written for a similar audience. Don't get me wrong. There is definitely more to this story, and the prose was indeed beautiful at times! But the flip flopping of narrator and perspective, added to the mundane stream of consciousness of Mrs Dalloway herself made for a read that I honestly was not that interested in.

Mrs Dalloway don’t worry…. I can buy myself flowers