I did not expect to love this one as much as I did!
★★★★★★★
Title: Mrs Dalloway
Author: Virginia Woolf
Genre: Fiction/Classic
First published: 1925
Edition: Hardback, published by Guild Publishing in 1979
In this vivid portrait of one day in a woman’s life, Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation while in her mind she is much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house, she is flooded with far-away remembrances. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices she has made, hesitantly looking ahead to growing old.
***
First line(s):
Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
***
This one was such a nice surprise. I went in without any knowledge of what it was about or any expectations. The only novel I read by the author previously was To The Lighthouse and to be honest I did not get on with that one that well. This one was far more up my street. In fact, this was a very ‘me’ book.
I love how the story kind of quietly meanders along as it makes its way through a single day in Mrs Dalloway and her high society acquaintances’ lives. It ambles along fluttering from character to character, never settling very long, but just long enough. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. There were a few times I was confused and I was not quite sure who’s thoughts I was reading, but overall it was pretty clear.
I enjoyed being in the character’s heads for a little while before seeing the person from someone else’s perspective. There is a lot of social commentary, but it also touched quite heavily on PTSD, which of course was not really recognised at the time.
I absolutely adored the writing and the quiet quaintness of this novel and I kind of fell in love with it along the way. Maybe me and Virginia Woolf can get on after all.
A gem of a book.
7 out of 7 stars
CAWPILE score: 9.4
- Characters: 9
- Atmosphere: 10
- Writing Style: 9.5
- Plot: 9
- Intrigue: 9
- Logic: 10
- Enjoyment: 9.5
Lola Et La Vie 