Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway
-by Virginia Woolf


My Rating: 2 / 5

Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Me! Me!

Sure she's supposedly lyrical and "la-tee-da". And this book is supposedly haunting and important. And it no doubt has its place in literature ...er... somewhere. But quite honestly, I'd be more willing to watch paint dry than read it again.

The story details a entire day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, in high society England, post WWI, as she hurries about London preparing for a inner party to be held later that evening. Complete with flashbacks, it is penned in the "stream of consciousness" narrative mode, that Woolf is well known for, which I must admit isn't my cup of tea generally. This is no doubt why Dalloway didn't appeal to me on so many levels.

It should be read with the approach of a long-winded prose-poem, instead of a novel, with no set plot - a book that goes nowhere. So if you enjoy that kind of a writing style, this will be one for you.

In any case, speaking only for myself, Mrs. Dalloway is one of the dullest books I have ever read.