The Mrs. Dalloway Reader
by Virginia Woolf, Francine Prose
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 351)
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
all
"...Clarissa had a theory in those days--they had heaps of theories, always theories, as young people have. It was to explain the feeling they had of dissatisfaction; not knowing people; not being known. For how could they know each other? You met every day; then not for six months, or years. It was unsatisfactory, they agreed, how little one knew people. But she said, sitting on the bus going up Shaftesbury Avenue, she felt herself everywhere; not 'here, here, here'; and she tapped the bac...more
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Read in May, 2008
It would have been a different story had the inner monologues not been present.
The soldiers marching by, the passing car holding someone of high or noble status, the prime minister at Clarissa's party--all like figureheads. We never get inside their thoughts. They're present the way the chiming clock is present. As a disruption.
All the real action of the novel takes place in the space of one day, culminating in a party: the climax. But the real expression of lives and moments and thoug...more
The soldiers marching by, the passing car holding someone of high or noble status, the prime minister at Clarissa's party--all like figureheads. We never get inside their thoughts. They're present the way the chiming clock is present. As a disruption.
All the real action of the novel takes place in the space of one day, culminating in a party: the climax. But the real expression of lives and moments and thoug...more
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Read in May, 2005
Hands down, my favorite book in the entire universe. I have a copy at home, a copy in my apartment, and a copy at work. All are care-worn, dog-eared, highlighted, underlined, creased, and well-loved. A beloved professor once told me that I will appreciate this book at 20 and I will appreciate it for entirely different reasons at 40. Well, 2.5 years after my first reading, I already find that different elements strike me for different reasons. I like that: a book with which you can grow old....more
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Read in February, 2008
I watched "The Hours" again the other day and forgot what a great film it was. One of the film's character's is Virginia Woolf who is played by Nicole Kidman. Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" is referenced throughtout the film and so I decided to read the book as well.
This is the first book I have read by Virginia Woolf and I don't think I like her style of writing. I'm sure some people out there will gasp at hearing me say that about such a "classic" writer, but this b...more
This is the first book I have read by Virginia Woolf and I don't think I like her style of writing. I'm sure some people out there will gasp at hearing me say that about such a "classic" writer, but this b...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
people willing to work hard at a book
Honestly, this may in fact be the best book I have ever read in my entire life. The best written, the most intriguing, the most thought-provoking, the most initially confusing novel I know. Reading it has changed my life, which may sound extreme but as a writer I don't exaggerate. Woolf's beautiful language deftly captures the facets of several people's everyday lives, so brilliantly that sometimes it's a bit much for one to comprehend. The language is different and never repeats itself, and the...more
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Read in January, 2008
I realize why people gave this book more stars, there are some beautiful passages, and the writing style is excellent ... however it took me way longer than it should to get through. The reason is simply the storyline which flows ingeniously between different characters and point of view, conflicted with my mental attention span. Reading this book was like the same way I think, and being so I ended up having to reread paragraphs several times. I suppose reading this on a crowded subway didn't ...more
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An interesting collection of work surrounding Mrs. Dalloway, this book contains selections of Woolf's diaries, the original “Mrs. Dalloway's Party” short story, Woolf's notes, essays and stories by other writers who were inspired by Mrs. Dalloway, along with the final novel. Mrs. Dalloway is a superbly crafted novel, with dual narratives, intense back stories, and a profound reach of content . . . reading this coupled with her diary entries, her first short story, her notes on writing Mrs. ...more
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Read in February, 2008
Though the actual writing is amazing the story itself was often hard to wade through. One of the reviewers, Sigrid Nunez, writes, "Every (character) is death-haunted, everyone is a poet, everyone is neurotic, everyone is a genius, everyone is Virginia Wolf." This is how I felt at the end. The lives of the characters were different, but the characters themselves all seemed the same.
I appreciated this edition because it included background notes, diary entries, and commentaries which...more
I appreciated this edition because it included background notes, diary entries, and commentaries which...more
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Read in February, 2008
Amazing book, can't believe I haven't read it before, nearly 100 years old and still original in thought and style. It's not just the story of Mrs Dalloway but a series of insights into a variety of people's minds who are all in some way linked to her and each other. The insights come from the varying characters internal dialogue and so range in ideas from women's rights to marriage to insanity to love to India to lesbianism (though not outrightly stated).
A little dense but a breeze compared...more
A little dense but a breeze compared...more
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Read in November, 2005
I've had a love/hate relationship with Woolf for a long time now; but this book tipped the scales into love (and prompted me to do my MA dissertation on her). Woolf packed a lot into a slim novel and wrote one of the most compelling first sentences ever in this book. She touched on time, loneliness, aging, and seeking and finding validity. The title character is at times touching, shallow, insecure, profound, arrogant, beautiful, vulnerable, spiteful... in short, she is a beautiful, dense portra...more
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i get so lost in woolf's writing that i often miss the plot (i think that's a british-y writing thing as much as its my thing though). anyway, i can't say that i ever hate woolf's writing, but i'm certainly not her biggest fan, either. i think i might need reread most of her stuff again to see if i'm 'big girl' enough now to appreciate it better. i'll take any suggestions on how to approach this behemoth (really, i am really not a fan of british authors)???
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Read in August, 2006
recommends it for:
people who read all the endmatter
If you REALLY like Mrs. Dalloway, then you should read it in this setting: it contains the complete text of the novel; Mrs. Dalloway's Party, the original stories which seeded the novel, Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party," which (and whom) Woolf envied, and essays by Francine Prose and Michael Cunningham (author of The Hours). If you haven't read Mrs. Dalloway, and really want to do it up proper, you should give this edition a try.
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Read in January, 2008
long, superbly detailed and obsessive passages in the styles of "a day in the life of..." Unfortunately, my attention span wavers and the stream of consciousness style, void of breaks (not like anybody ever gets a break from their day to day observations, anyway) weighs heavy on my patience. So much so that I read this book in random binges, mainly when I wish to dive into somebody else's reality and obsess along with Virginia and Mrs. Dalloway.
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I've read this book a number of times now, and it's like gulping down an ocean. You can't putz through Virginia Woolf, you have to dive in and let it wash over you. I've recently had the pleasure to read some of this aloud, and it's like falling alongside perfection.
Nothing is like Woolf's language. Or her flower imagery. Or her intertextual links.
Nothing is like Woolf's language. Or her flower imagery. Or her intertextual links.
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As a commentary on inter-war society, Clarissa's character highlights the role of women as the proverbial "Angel in the House" and embodies both sexual and economic repression. She keeps up with and even embraces the social expectations of the wife of a politician, but she is still able to express herself in the parties she throws.
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When I read this book in high school i didn't "get it." I feel so lucky that i got to read it twice in college because all of the sudden i saw what an incredible work of genius this book is. Woolf manipulates language so beautifully and creates such heroically flawed characters. I love this book.
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I had to read this for a class. I like a lot of her other work but for some reason really couldn't get into this. I did like the stream of consciousness writing but in some parts found it really hard to keep up with what she was trying to say. I think if I read it again it might make more sense.
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Read in April, 2003
i don't remember much about this story anymore, but i do remember this book was difficult to read and stayed with me for a week or so after i finished it. it was like actually being in the mind of a crazy person, which did not feel good - but i still couldn't put it down til i finished it.
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Ok Gloria so I have to fess up. I was mistaken when I said I'd never read any Virginia Woolf. I've read Mrs. Dalloway. I didn't realize it was written by her! It was a long time ago, but I do remember enjoying it and you know I love Francine Prose so this version I will relish. Thank you!
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Couldn't finish it. What the heck is it about? I feel awful, being an English teacher, that I couldn't read this. I mean, I'm sure I COULD, but ug. I just could NOT push on.
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