Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Title: Mrs Dalloway
Author: Virginia Woolf
Pages: 194
Genre: Classic
Book Description:
Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional high-society woman in post-World War I England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels.

Created from two short stories, "Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The Prime Minister," the novel addresses Clarissa's preparations for a party she will host that evening. With an interior perspective, the story travels forwards and back in time and in and out of the characters' minds to construct an image of Clarissa's life and of the inter-war social structure.

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My Opinion:
This short, classic novel takes place over just one day as the protagonist prepares for a party. It includes multiple flashbacks of different characters. I had to read this as part of my Literature course at university but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it.

Firstly, the plot was something I would find interesting because it only takes place in one day which isn't something I've come across in many books. Whilst I usually enjoy flashbacks in novels, I didn't feel like it worked very well here because it jumped around a lot and I found it difficult to keep track of which characters were in the present and past.

Similarly, the use of the multiple perspectives of different characters could have worked really well, yet here it wasn't used to its full potential. It made the plot less interesting and I got bored very easily because I couldn't keep track of the characters and their flashbacks.

Whilst there was a slight twist at the end of the novel, it wasn't unexpected and I saw it coming from the use of foreshadowing further on. As disappointed as I am to say, I'm glad that this book was as short as it is because if it had been longer I doubt I would have managed to finish it.

Overall I did not enjoy reading this which is a shame since I was looking forward to reading something by Woolf, who has a good reputation. Perhaps some of her other books are more creative and interesting but this wasn't a good start for me. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this.

Favourite Quotes:

It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning

~~~~

Mrs Dalloway is always giving parties to cover the silence

Rating ★

1 out of 5 stars 

 Next book I'm going to review:
Coraline by Neil Gaiman