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A review by eviecheesepuff
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
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
5.0
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, and Suicide