Mrs. Dalloway

[Lori, Super Mod]

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[Chelsea]

Checked this our from the library yesturday and I'm having a hard getting into it. The writing style is kind of hard to follow... I'm hoping I get used to it after a few more pages.

[Chris]

Mrs Dalloway is one of my favourite books ever, the whole atmosphere of the book just mesmerises me and I can't help but fall for it every time I read it

[Jessica]

I read Mrs Dalloway last year; it took me slightly less than four months to finish it because of the style. But I was impressed at how so much plot could be spun out of just one day.

[Chelsea]

Now that the I've gotten used to the style, I'm really starting to enjoy it. It just took a good 40 pages for that to happen.

[Anna N.]

I like the style of writing but I can't get the plot yet.

[Chelsea]

Now at a little more than a hundered pages in, it's become very slow again. om at the part where Hugh is writing a letter and it takes almost a whole page to talk about the pen. I jist don't know if I am going to be able to finish this one.

[Jessica]

Chelsea, that's the exact place where I got really stuck! It took me a while to get past that.

[Dani]

Going to try and make some to re-read this book as I read it back in 2010. Woolf is an exceptional writer but her style is most definitely unique. I find the more that you know about her personally and about how she writes the more I appreciate her work. My favourite of hers so far has been this book and her essay, A Room of One's Own.

[Emily]

I love this book. I read it at the beginning of last summer and was totally impressed. It was a little difficult, but once I got used to the style it went a lot faster than I imagined. I love the way she paints characters by slipping in and out of their consciousness. I have a review that goes over some of her stylistic elements, which may or may not help people understand some of what she's doing.

Chelsea wrote: "Now that the I've gotten used to the style, I'm really starting to enjoy it. It just took a good 40 pages for that to happen."

It took me a long time to get used to the style too. I think I was about 70 pages in before I started to feel comfortable.

Dani wrote: "My favourite of hers so far has been this book and her essay, A Room of One's Own. "

I definitely agree with you about A Room of One's Own. It's such a classic essay, and still has some interesting stylistic elements to it. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes early feminist writing or essays in general.

[[deleted user]]

There really is no plot to speak of in the novel. A major event does occur, but I won't reveal what it is. Woolf uses a stream-of-conscious approach and interweaves the thoughts, feelings and insights of a number of characters over the course of one day. The main character, of course, is Mrs. Dalloway. The novel focuses on each character in turn with subtle shifts in consciousness from one to another. What appears to be an unrelated story involving a World War I veteran and his Italian wife (at least the characters are not directly associated with Mrs. Dalloway) finally is linked to her life in some way. Woolf provides what appears to be an accurate slice-of-life look at London during the post-war period. I found the novel to be rewarding and was glad I read it, even though it was challenging. Plus I thought some parts of it were beautifully written. After making a few unsuccessful attempts to read the book, I finally finished it last year.

[Emmet]

An interesting read, but I've always wondered at the frequently made comparisons between Woolf's stream of consciousness and Joyce's Ulysses. Particularly as she described that book as - "examining the pimples on the face of a boot boy outside Harrods."

Mrs. Dalloway was no doubt intended by Woolf to be less vulgar. That makes me chuckle.

[Chelsea]

I liked how the reader floated through the characters' minds...it almost felt like I was a leaf-setteling on the ground and then being swept off by a breeze to settle on a new person for a while. However, the lack of plot really did bother me. I just need a little more action than this book had to offer.

[Carly]

I still have this on my drive from when I did it before.

I'm starting the 'listen' tonight. Be back in a couple days, I guess.

[Yuliya]

I read it one year ago and kind of struggle from beginning, later start even liking the book, but now nothing is left in memory, only chaos of some names, style of writing, but no memory of any plot...

[Jasmine]

I read this book because I started The Hours and realized I had to read this first. And while I didn't enjoy it as much as A Room of One's Own [a sentiment expressed by others here], I'm glad that I did. It reminded me of E.M Forster in its depiction of British class and society through the eyes of one woman.

[[deleted user]]

I read this book a few years ago and began a love affair with Woolf's writing. Her books are challenging but worth it. Oddly, much like David Lynch movies, I forget much of the actual plot and am only left with impressions and images. My plan is to reread Mrs. Dalloway shortly. I hope it's as good as I remember.

[Tina]

I finished this book over the weekend and have mixed thoughts about it. At times the writing was lyrical and other times, not so much. I wish I was more familiar with the areas of London and how Big Ben sounds. I think that would have added greatly to my enjoyment of the story. I will have to catch the movie "The Hours" that I believe was a remake of this classic.

[Heather L]

I started this one last week, but with one life interruption after another have not yet finished it -- am about half way through. The lack of chapters, long passages and few page breaks makes it difficult pre-bedtime reading. There never seems to be a good place to stop!

Another GR group I am in is reading this in March, so I am feeling less pressured to finish it right now, and may set it aside to read another book or two before completely immersing myself in it again.

[Linda]

At first I floated away as images emerged one after the other (felt myself looking skyward in places I'm familiar with in London) only then to find myself looking at my feet treading through treacle! It was a difficult read, turgid at times and beautifully descriptive at others. I now need an easy read to turn to but will return to more Virginia Woolf - something I didn't think I'd say until I was three quarters through the book!

[Cheryl]

I read this book several years ago for a college class. I'm not a fan of stream of consciousness writing, but this book was the exception. It can be a challenging book to read, that's for sure.

[[deleted user]]

I was not a fan of this book. I found the writing style really hard to get into, and had to really slog my way to the end. Not one I will read again, that's for sure!