Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

34 reviews

narkohund's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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libbygranger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
For me, reading any Virginia Woolf text for the first time is like reading through a frosted glass window. Every so often I can identify the blurry images as real people, places and objects – but most of the time I’m just hopefully peering through, trying to piece fragments together into some coherent image. I don’t mind it, though. Each time I reread one of her works, the glass becomes clearer and clearer, and I notice more and more. This is what makes her books so special for me – there’s so much packed in there, it’s the gift that keeps on giving, and Mrs Dalloway was certainly no exception. There were some quotes that struck me, some story threads that gripped me, and some characters that intrigued me. I loved best Clarissa Dalloway’s reminiscences on her youth with Peter Walsh and Sally Seton; that storyline was the easiest to follow and most accessible upon first read. Though the eponymous character is central to the novel, the story follows an ensemble cast of characters whose lives intertwine in both past and present. I was astounded at Woolf’s deftness in slipping effortlessly from one character’s internal monologue to the next, sometimes within the span of a single sentence. 
 
Upon finishing Mrs Dalloway, I felt the same overwhelming melancholy as I did after The Waves. It was like I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. The weight of everything Woolf had expressed over the course of 190 pages just felt like too much to handle. Something about Virginia Woolf's writing is just magical. I look forward to the day when I feel emotionally prepared enough to dive back in for a reread. 
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imalu's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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anxiousapple's review against another edition

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

5.0

Mrs Dalloway is still with me nearly a year after I first turned its final page! Even better, I still think of it fondly after reading it and closely studying it multiple times. This is the kind of book that does it for me, wonderfully immersive language, fascinating commentary, discussions on life in London early in the 20th century, and mental illness (all of which are bookish buzzwords for me)

It has the strange distinction of being tragic - in dealing with Septimus' storyline - whilst also being life-affirming with luscious descriptions of the beauty and consolatory of nature and the sparkling potential offered to women post the vote for. Although I suppose the best term would be bittersweet acknowledging the intervening years.
I found I adore it every time I pick it up.
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