Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
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Book Reviews of Mrs. Dalloway
Book Review: Absolutely Breath-taking
Summary: 5 Stars
I am relatively new to Virginia Woolf,but I have seen and loved The Hours and so I was well aquainted with Mrs.Dalloway and how she bought the flowers herself.
From the moment I saw the cover in a bookstore I was under Virginia's spell. She is truly one of the greatest writers of all time.
The story is magnificent in it's simplicity: a single day in a woman's life.
The truthfullness in which she renders not only her charactures but every person one passes in the street after reading her is terribly beautiful.
I am dissapointed in mankind when I see that the average rating is four stars. It shows their shallowness because they cannot understand.
Please read this book.It is larger than life.
Book Review: More Effort Required
Summary: 5 Stars
This book certainly requires more effort on the reader's side than many books, but it is well worth the effort. Woolf keeps up her half of the bargain by making effective use of the diffucult style; leading the reader with a purpose rather than pointless meandering. She explores the stream-of-conciousness style effectively, without going to the silly extreme that some other Modernist authors did. Her portrayal of mental illness strikes me as eerily realistic, especially when you take into account her own personal history.
The way I attacked it was like this: I read it once as quick as I could, without stopping to figure it out, then read it again taking my time. In the end, I was rewarded with a cathartic experience.
Book Review: Intriguing
Summary: 5 Stars
I had never read anything by Virgnia Woolf, not even in college, but wanted to read "Mrs. Dalloway" before "The Hours" which has become a bestseller here. The story stretches over one day in the life of the protagonist and explores the intricacies of human relationships, women with men, and women with women. The pain and anguish Ms. Woolf manages to portray are vivid, and proof of her genuis as a writer. If you're looking for a book with a substantial plot or even minimal action, this is not for you. "Mrs. Dalloway" instead relies on dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters to carry it along. I can see why it has been referred to as a classic.Book Review: Poetic Prose
Summary: 5 Stars
Rich fare indeed; affective writing at it's modernist best. Like gagging on good porter when near-beer's been your habitual tipple for far too long. Best taken before or after having your kisser linguistically smacked by James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard et al. Could not have been written before ULYSSES, but had to be written before John O'Hara could come up with BUTTERFIELD 8 - and I reckon F Scott Fitzgerald suckled at this muse too (aficionados, check out Jordan Baker's curtains flying "like pale flags"in GATSBY: they're "dragons" in MRS DALLOWAY). A literary gem to be cherished: eat your heart out, Peter Ackroyd: never was the city of London more effectively visualised.
Book Review: One of the best ever....
Summary: 5 Stars
No, this book is not pulp fiction, nor will it ever show up on anyone's summer reading list, but it is, given time and patience, one of the all time best examples of the written word at it's very zenith.
I read the book in college and then re-read it right after finding Michael Cunningham's THE HOURS and seeing Vanessa Redgrave in the movie. Clarissa Dalloway is one of the most carefully developed characters in fiction. Additionally, Woolf's detailed and exquisite interiors are worth savoring -- almost word by word.
Woolf was one of the great voices of the English language. Her work compels the reader to slow down and feel the words.
Enjoy!