Mrs. Dalloway

Oxford world's classics

by Virginia Woolf

185 pages

English language

Published Sept. 19, 2000 by Oxford University Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-19-953600-9

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(12 reviews)

Virginia Woolf’s novel chronicles a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a politician’s wife in 1920s London, as she prepares to host a party that evening. The narrative follows Clarissa’s thoughts (and sometimes those of people she meets) as she goes about her errands, and events in the day remind her of her youth and friendships from the past. As the book progresses characters from the past emerge, igniting old feelings and making Clarissa question the life she has created for herself.

Mrs. Dalloway became the inspiration for Michael Cunningham’s 1998 novel The Hours.

70 editions

Diego Delgado reviewed La señora Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Un clásico complejo

3 stars

Tenía muchísimas ganas de leer a Virginia Woolf y creo que ha sido un error comenzar con 'La señora Dalloway'. Me ha parecido un libro muy complejo en la forma -la narración es una especie de flujo constante de pensamiento, solo interrumpido por algunos diálogos, que salta con mucha frecuencia de unos personajes a otros inadvertidamente- y excesivamente críptico en el contenido. Ojo, estos problemas tienen que ver con una falta de comprensión por mi parte, en ningún caso lo achaco a que se trate de una mala novela; de hecho, me parece todo lo contrario. Y así, en muchas ocasiones sin terminar de entender lo que estaba leyendo, me apetecía seguir avanzando en esta narración que describe, con una prosa repleta de lirismo, la burguesía inglesa de los años veinte.

ouch6854@comelibros.club reviewed Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Review of 'Mrs. Dalloway' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Maybe I'll feel different at another point in my life, but I simply cannot recommend this book right now.

I had to go to third party sources to understand the whole thing due to its chaotic writing, and even after all that... turns out there was no story to follow, really.

I could certainly enjoy some descriptions, but it was overall a lot of effort to not prefer doing something else.

It was also the first book I read in a while so hopefully I'll come back in 20 years and find out how wrong I was.

Sara reviewed Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Review of 'Mrs. Dalloway' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Zaista sam željela da mi se svidi, ali nekako baš nije išlo. Malo me pogubio način pisanja koji jeste dobrim dijelom poetičan ali kroz njega se ili gubi smisao ili ja jednostavno didn't GET IT. Ne mogu da ulazim u književnu kritiku jer nisam kadar, ali likovi koji su najviše opisivani su mi bili dosadni a oni koji su me najviše interesovali su ostali nedorečeni. Takođe ljubavni plot izeđu Klarise i Pitera mi nema smisla, ako je bio toliko zaljubljen u nju i još uvjek je, zašto je stalno kritikovao kako je površna i njen životni stil njemu nema smisla? Pa okej, mislim ima smisla ako shvatimo da niko nije u pravu i da su svi likovi čudni, nesretni, i manje ili više gej, a sve je to obavijeno opisom visokog londonskog društva koje je izrazito monontono (sem naravno silnog i cijenjenog cvijeća koje često ima svoje istaknute momente).

Sara reviewed Mrs.Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Review of 'Mrs.Dalloway' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Zaista sam željela da mi se svidi, ali nekako baš nije išlo. Malo me pogubio način pisanja koji jeste dobrim dijelom poetičan ali kroz njega se ili gubi smisao ili ja jednostavno didn't GET IT. Ne mogu da ulazim u književnu kritiku jer nisam kadar, ali likovi koji su najviše opisani su mi bili dosadni a oni koji su me najviše interesovali su ostali nedorečeni. Takođe ljubavni plot izeđu Klarise i Pitera mi nema smisla, ako je bio toliko zaljubljen u nju i još uvijek je, zašto je stalno kritikovao kako je površna i njen životni stil njemu nema smisla? Pa okej, mislim ima smisla ako shvatimo da niko nije u pravu i da su svi likovi čudni, nesretni, i manje ili više gej, a sve je to obavijeno opisom visokog londonskog društva koje je izrazito monontono (sem naravno silnog i cijenjenog cvijeća koje često ima svoje istaknute momente).

Paul Matthews reviewed Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Uniform edition of the works of Virginia Woolf)

Review of 'Mrs. Dalloway' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

sharp and spiky, melancholy, human

admin reviewed Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Review of 'Mrs. Dalloway' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Mrs. Dalloway was the first novel to split the atom. If the novel before Mrs. Dalloway aspired to immensities of scope and scale, to heroic journeys across vast landscapes, with Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf insisted that it could also locate the enormous within the everyday; that a life of errands and party-giving was every bit as viable a subject as any life lived anywhere; and that should any human act in any novel seem unimportant, it has merely been inadequately observed. The novel as an art form has not been the same since.

I picked up The Hours one day at the library. I did not know what it was about when I started reading it, and it captured me immediately. The scene of Woolf at the water's edge, the stones in her pocket, made my heart drop. As I read on, I realized this was, essentially, a crossover with …

Mrs. Dalloway was the first novel to split the atom. If the novel before Mrs. Dalloway aspired to immensities of scope and scale, to heroic journeys across vast landscapes, with Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf insisted that it could also locate the enormous within the everyday; that a life of errands and party-giving was every bit as viable a subject as any life lived anywhere; and that should any human act in any novel seem unimportant, it has merely been inadequately observed. The novel as an art form has not been the same since.

I picked up The Hours one day at the library. I did not know what it was about when I started reading it, and it captured me immediately. The scene of Woolf at the water's edge, the stones in her pocket, made my heart drop. As I read on, I realized this was, essentially, a crossover with Mrs. Dalloway. I hadn't read Mrs. Dalloway yet. So, even though I loved The Hours up to that point, I put it down so as not to spoil myself.

Finally, years later, I finished Mrs. Dalloway.

This was a hard book to read. I actually had gotten a copy of the audiobook from Audible (no, this post is not sponsored by Audible) and while listening to it, I knew I could not just listen to it, I needed to devour these words on a page. I put out a hold on the book at the library and eagerly started reading right away. However, it was incredibly hard for me to read. I would read a paragraph and not know what exactly was happening.

Annette Brownings, the narrator of the audiobook, breathed so much life into Woolf's words that I ended up listening to the audiobook while I read the physical book. That could be why it took me so long to read this book. But it was a very interesting way to read it. I find that when I listen to audiobooks, my mind can tend to wander. While reading, sometimes I will have to reread sentences before they make sense. Reading and listening at the same time really anchored me and I was able to focus.

And it was great that I was able to focus on it. The characters in Mrs. Dalloway absolutely grabbed me. I have never loved a cast of characters more. They are all so inexplicably human. I don't know what it's like to grow old as I'm still pretty young but I could feel these things that the characters went through, were going through.

Woolf has a wonderful way of narrating, it seems a lot like casual conversation. Quirky enough that you could spot a Woolf novel a mile away. I adored it, plain and simple (I'm sure that's one of her quirky isms and I'm taking it!). Woolf understands life. She suffered through it. I am so glad that she left the world with her words for us to muse and contemplate over. How intriguing it is, how one can leave behind a legacy.

If anybody could have saved me it would have been you.

First sentence: Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.

Last sentence: For there she was.