Mrs. Dalloway Review

Mrs Dalloway by Virgina Woolf (197 pages)
My Rating: 2.5 Stars
Date Read: 19 October 2016

Synopsis:

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. Undeniably triumphant, this is the inspired novelistic outline of human consciousness.

My Review:

I am going to start off by saying that I normally enjoy the Modernist literature. This being said, however, I did not really enjoy this book. It was long winded and very dense. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Following many different characters with no chapter breaks and no real breaks in the stream of consciousness was difficult to handle. I thought it was clever how the narrating voice would change from person to person when a character would see the other character on the street. That was very interesting and well thought out. This part felt like a movie jumping perspectives when the characters cross paths. That was the one part that I really enjoyed about the book.

I think the characters were intriguing, but annoying. Clarissa was wishy-washy in what she wanted and felt very empty and vain whenever she would interact with other characters. She wanted everything to be about her, because, why not, right? She was stuck in the past, but it seemed like she didn't really want to be. Her relationships with the men in her life, specifically with Peter and her husband, Richard, are unconventional to say the least. She is obsessed with the past with Peter, but enjoys what her husband can give her.

Speaking of Peter, that boy cannot let go. He thinks he is a player and some smooth guy, but he is so stuck on this one girl that he turns into a whiny child, in my opinion. Also, his relationship with his girlfriend who is married with children in India is messed up. I just don't really like him.

Richard is no better, though. He doesn't show Clarissa any affection, he is aloof at best, and doesn't seem like he cares about much.

All in all, the story line was okay, the characters were interesting, and the formatting was less than ideal, but I can see why people like it.