Mrs. Dalloway

Rating:
Summary: The empress has no clothes...
Review: I picked this up at the CMU library today, just to verify my impressions of VW after reading her silly, pretentious essay about watching a moth in her room. "Mrs. Dalloway" is a stream-of-consciousness experiment done AFTER "Ulysses" had appeared. Therefore it is not an experiment but an exercise in imitation -- "Can I do stream-of-consciousness, too, and be a great writer?"

It's boring and jejune from the first sentence. The main character is an ordinary, boring woman and her entire day -- "just like Ulysses" -- except that "Ulysses" was and is brilliant, while "Mrs. Dalloway" just waddles along, doing nothing.

It may help to remember that this allegedly cutting-edge artist (VW) unhesitatingly condemned Joyce as "obscene" and T. S. Eliot as "obscure," in a public lecture designed for her "high-brow friends," and got even nastier in her personal diaries, describing Joyce as a "self-educated working man" and sneering at him for an unkempt proletarian, while Eliot was dismissed as "anaemic," which apparently said it all for VW.

There is no reason whatsoever to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: difficult arty read
Review: if you're thinking of reading this book because you saw "the hours", you might want to think again. this isn't a user-friendly read. "mrs d" is an experimental novel in which the omniscient authorial voice is replaced by a web of consciousness, the story literally flitting from the head of one character to another. the problem isn't keeping track of whose head you're in, it's taking all the different viewpoints and assembling a coherent picture of character - and a story.

next to joyce's "ulysses", this is the toughest read. many times i was on the verge of dropping out. but i stuck with it. i'm not sure i made the right decision. woolf, like joyce, was writing for herself and an elite circle of intellectuals. her interests were how to tell a story in a completely new and different way. the story itself didn't interest her as much. this is the opposite of most popular novelists who write for an audience, and therefore put story before technique. so if you're used to reading books for their stories, don't bother with "mrs d". you'll be bored and probably won't be able to finish it. if, on the other hand, you're interested in how novels are composed and are willing to analyze a novel's structure and form, then by all means dive in. you won't find many books like "mrs dalloway".

Rating:
Summary: One of the best characters in literature
Review: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers
herself." Thus begins a very intriguing novel that
revolves around a single day in the life of Clarissa
Dalloway.

Clarissa is a good-natured woman who is throwing a
party. As the day goes on, her strong aura begins to
wear away due to small events: the surprise return of
a former admirer which recalls to her memories of a
secret kiss with a young lady years ago; her husband
being invited to lunch at Lady Bruton's without her;
Miss Kilman's unnatural attachment to her daughter
Elizabeth; and a death.

This is a beautifully written book that discusses the
relationships between men and women and serves as a
fascinating character study. Clarissa Dalloway is one
of the most invloved and interesting characters in
literature.

Highly recommended reading.

Rating:
Summary: don't be afraid of virginia woolf
Review: after having thoroughly enjoyed "to the lighthouse" i decided to try "mrs dalloway". many reviewers complain of the difficulty in reading the stream of consciousness writing style. although it can be difficult, it is simply something you have to get comfortable with. when you do, you will open yourself up to a treasure trough of great literature like "sound and the fury", "ullyses", & "sometimes a great notion" to name a few.
of these "mrs dalloway" is one of the easier to read. ms woolf's use of language is unmatched. her characters drive the story, not the action. get lost amongst these and you will love this book. the book is also relatively short which will help the first time "streamer".

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love it, really I did...
Review: Having abandoned this novel only half-read years ago, I went back to it hoping that maturity and experience might make a difference in my view of the work. Again I found myself plodding through, at least finishing it this time, but still left unimpressed. Sorry. I tried.

Rating:
Summary: I read the news today, oh boy...
Review: MRS. DALLOWAY isn't a very easy book to read, but it's ultimately well worth the time and effort you'll spend wading through its almost primordial verbiage.

Virginia Woolf was attempting something that hadn't really been done before when she wrote this vastly internal day-in-the-life study of a sickly, changeable woman whose preeminent skills are throwing parties and being 'Mrs. Dalloway.' Woolf wasn't overly fond of how James Joyce had executed his day-in-the-life tour de force, ULYSSES, so she decided to write her own, carving out in MRS. DALLOWAY a new paradigm for writing about the inner workings of mind and heart. For the most part, Woolf succeeds admirably in her journey through this literary terra nova.

MRS. DALLOWAY can be confounding and at times overtiring (it'll definitely make you want to read something "light" next) but it does cause you to have a genuine and unique human experience, which is really the reason we bother reading in the first place.

And if this one leaves you hungry for more, make sure to read Michael Cunningham's beautifully written but considerably-easier-to-read sequel/remake, THE HOURS (after spending some well earned-time poolside with your favorite summer page-turner).

Rating:
Summary: A good book, but tough read!
Review: Well, I decided to read Mrs. Dalloway because of "The Hours". I didn't expect this book to be such a difficult read and contemplated stopping many times. However, i pressed on and am glad i did.
Virginia Woolf writes about several different characters; all on the same day which leads to Clarissa Dalloway's party that evening. What made this such a hard read for me was that Woolf would jump from one character to another and I wouldn't know who she was speaking of.
This story talks of the customs of these character who live in England, and also has some flashbacks into their past. There was one total shock in this book, which was when Woolf wrote of Clarissa and her friend Sally share a pretty passionate kiss.
Although it was a difficult read, Woolf was right on track, and some of her themes in this book hold true in today's society!

Rating:
Summary: Superb writing but less than dazzling coherence
Review: First of all, I must get this out of the way and say that Virginia Woolf is an absolutely amazing "writer". She writes very well. Each sentence in "Mrs. Dalloway" is precious. It is important to not try to speed-read this book, because that would really be an utterly shameful waste to Woolf's carefully structured sentences. Honestly, each sentence is gold. For people who are inspired to be writers themselves or those who simply adore good'o fashioned writing, this book is it! The content is densely squeezed into each line and the page really jumps out.

However, (I know many Woolf specialists will disagree, but I have to say what is MY opinion) the content is somewhat on the weak and even occasionally confusing and incoherent side. Much of the content is about the mental traffic inside the characters. If you are looking for that, then this book will be your favorite. But if you are looking for a plot-rich book, this piece of literature will prove to be disappointing. There is not much "story" per se in here. Amazing emotions, sentiments and nostalgia flow in the novel. The last 25, 30 pages are overwhelming powerful in its conveyance of personal emotions about the time lost; lost youth and time that can only be touched in the mind but not by the hands. If you are feeling "old" and feeling you are "getting old"; if you want to read something that is reminiscing, this books truly is gold. Then why did I give only 3 stars? Plot-weak. I wish Virginia Woolf did spend more ink about the party, but maybe, just maybe, the climax is intendedly short to make the readers want more. More emotions, more drama, more grief. More of something that one cannot have anymore. A must read for anybody who wants to "feel". Do not read this as a past-time.

Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Dalloway
Review: Probably her best, and most known book, Mrs. Dalloway is by far the richest reading experience you will ever have if you choose to do yourself a favour and read it.

Virginia Woolf excels in her imagery, language, rich vocabulary, allusions, the weaving of plot - or lack of it of thereof for that matter in a manner and style that are unsurpassed. She is certainly a pioneer, a precursor for whatever she has begun with her insane sentences, and fragments and questions.
Stream of consciousness...? I don't think so, most people like to call it so, but she pops in and out of the text every now and then and she just keeps surprising you with her comments on the characters at the right time, when you are wondering, where did she go? What does it all mean?

If you are looking for a meaningful plot, and action, forget it! Nothing happens in this book, but if you are a fan of refined prose, poetic imagery, exquisite language, read it, and you won't regret it.

"The world has raised its whip; where will it descend"?
Virginia Woolf (Mrs. Dalloway)

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, once I got into it . . .
Review: I had a hard time getting into this book, what with the streams of consciousness, the sudden changes in points of view and scenes, and what have you. But once I finally got into it -- I had to have NO distractions to read this book -- I found it interesting and poignant. I found the characters fascinating, even in their shallowness, or perhaps because of their shallowness. I was particularly struck by Richard Dalloway's resolve to tell his wife that he loved her, then his failure to do so, but they both understood the feelings were there. It seemed this was a scene played out over and over again, a sad but true fact of their domestic life together. Miss Kilman was also a pitiable but interesting character. I do wish the daughter, Elizabeth, could have been fleshed out more, and the connection between Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus made stronger. Still, it was quite a good book, so long as I was able to give my full concentration to it. I am glad, though, books aren't written this way today, though!