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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
tense
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
i really do love virginia woolf, i do, but i found myself so bored with this read. there was just too much going on all at once, with all the other characters being described doing something else at the same time as a conversation. it was way too mind boggling. however, it is a classic, so the three stars remains.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
challenging
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
Hmph. This took me over a month to read!!! I have to say.. boring as hell. And the way it is written with zero chapters doesn’t help at all. That aside, there are some redeeming parts of this book. It’s a story of an uppity woman throwing a party in London and the characters along the way. This long of a book for just the set up of a party is borderline absurd.. but it speaks to the slowness of Virginia Woolf. The beautiful parts of this book are hidden in the endless sentences. It’s beautiful in its sentence structure and explanation of nothingness. There is a charm to it. Would I ever read it again… no<3 but it was a challenge and really forced me to slow tf down. Especially because I had to read sentences over and over again. This queen simply has too many thoughts and too much to say. Love her for it🙏
Wouldn't have finished this if it wasn't for an assignment.
Woolf is so eager to be poetic and evocative that she just slapped all the metaphors, images and ';'s she could think of in here in the hope that at least one would pull on your heartstrings. Example:
'Such are the visions which proffer great cornucopias full of fruit to the solitary traveller, or murmer in his ear like sirens lolloping away on the green sea waves, or are dashed in his face like bunches of roses, or rise to the surface like pale faces which fishermen flounder through floods to embrace.'
Christ, Virginia. Just pick one and move on. It's not that the imagery isn't good, but when you're constantly being bombed with image after image about the same thing it just wears you down and undermines the poignancy of all of them. Because of this, I think the book really shines when it doesn't try so hard to be something it doesn't have to be, which is ironic given the overarching theme of the novel - at least in my view - is precisely the difficulty of being (oneself).
To my complete and utter dismay, the poetry barrage succeeded occassionaly, with the highlight being the vignettes about Rezia and Septimus, a couple struggling with the husband's post-war PTSD.
Overwrought, inauthentic and pretentious. Exactly what she critiques her own characters of being.
Woolf is so eager to be poetic and evocative that she just slapped all the metaphors, images and ';'s she could think of in here in the hope that at least one would pull on your heartstrings. Example:
'Such are the visions which proffer great cornucopias full of fruit to the solitary traveller, or murmer in his ear like sirens lolloping away on the green sea waves, or are dashed in his face like bunches of roses, or rise to the surface like pale faces which fishermen flounder through floods to embrace.'
Christ, Virginia. Just pick one and move on. It's not that the imagery isn't good, but when you're constantly being bombed with image after image about the same thing it just wears you down and undermines the poignancy of all of them. Because of this, I think the book really shines when it doesn't try so hard to be something it doesn't have to be, which is ironic given the overarching theme of the novel - at least in my view - is precisely the difficulty of being (oneself).
To my complete and utter dismay, the poetry barrage succeeded occassionaly, with the highlight being the vignettes about Rezia and Septimus, a couple struggling with the husband's post-war PTSD.
Overwrought, inauthentic and pretentious. Exactly what she critiques her own characters of being.
Giving up at ~65%. I was going to try and complete this, but I know that I would only continue flipping through the pages and basically just pretend to read.
I didn't like this at all, from the very first page. The prose is very stylized (as in, by the end of the second page I'm pretty sure about 15 or 20 semi-colons had already been used) and choppy, and it nearly completely obscured my ability to absorb anything cohesive. On top of that, the narrative floats from mind to mind without warning or any clear difference in how characters think (since everyone's brains are just full of semi-colons and sentence fragments), and it made it impossible for me to care about anything that was happening (or appreciate any beautiful lines or ideas that may have been buried by the surrounding mess).
I didn't like this at all, from the very first page. The prose is very stylized (as in, by the end of the second page I'm pretty sure about 15 or 20 semi-colons had already been used) and choppy, and it nearly completely obscured my ability to absorb anything cohesive. On top of that, the narrative floats from mind to mind without warning or any clear difference in how characters think (since everyone's brains are just full of semi-colons and sentence fragments), and it made it impossible for me to care about anything that was happening (or appreciate any beautiful lines or ideas that may have been buried by the surrounding mess).
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway is a brilliant novel but difficult to read. Very fresh for its time, it deals with taboo themes of that era such as mental health, women’s position, feminism, LGBTQ+ issues, society, and class. The narrative breaks the norms of its time, offering a more authentic and realistic modern perspective.
Woolf’s writing is highly descriptive, often using two or three adjectives to describe a single noun. She combines internal descriptions with external observations, creating a deep and immersive experience. The story moves back and forth in time, and the lack of chapter separations makes it harder to follow. Despite this, Woolf’s extraordinary talent shines through, proving once again her mastery of the craft.
Set in post-war London, the novel portrays a society moving forward in various ways while tradition and social norms struggle to preserve old habits. Two characters, Clarissa and Septimus, never meet but are deeply connected through themes of life and death, sanity and insanity. Woolf’s narrative is a brilliant blend of time and consciousness, leaving readers with much to think about.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading and have some experience with complex literature. Let this not be your first novel, but it is a rewarding journey for those who take it on.
Woolf’s writing is highly descriptive, often using two or three adjectives to describe a single noun. She combines internal descriptions with external observations, creating a deep and immersive experience. The story moves back and forth in time, and the lack of chapter separations makes it harder to follow. Despite this, Woolf’s extraordinary talent shines through, proving once again her mastery of the craft.
Set in post-war London, the novel portrays a society moving forward in various ways while tradition and social norms struggle to preserve old habits. Two characters, Clarissa and Septimus, never meet but are deeply connected through themes of life and death, sanity and insanity. Woolf’s narrative is a brilliant blend of time and consciousness, leaving readers with much to think about.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading and have some experience with complex literature. Let this not be your first novel, but it is a rewarding journey for those who take it on.