Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway takes place over the course of a single day in the mid 1920s during which the title character is planning for a party that she is hosting that evening. The point of view passes from Mrs. Dalloway to other characters in a round-robin fashion, during which the reader has access to that person's inner monologue, shared in a style that's close to stream-of-consciousness. Access to the characters' thoughts and memories allows the reader to know what is in the mind of not only Mrs. Dalloway, but also her family, future attendees of her evening party, and a husband and wife who are struggling with severe “shell-shock” being experienced by the war veteran husband, a condition we would now call PTSD. Being privy to the perspectives of so many characters who have opinions about the main character also gives the reader an interesting 360-degree view of Mrs. Dalloway.

The way Virginia Woolf writes the internal, anguished monologues of her characters is remarkable. Because of the flowing style that reads like unfiltered thoughts, including some repetitiveness of phrase, this isn't a quick read, but it's a very worthy one. With each book (I've read To The Lighthouse and A Room of One's Own in addition to Mrs. Dalloway) my admiration for this author grows. Her writing style is challenging, full of depth, and gives the reader a detailed look at early 20^th Century culture and manners.

An aside: This is the first book that my in-person book club (The Dalloway Club) read, when it formed in 1999. (I joined the club during its fourth session, when the book was The Handmaid's Tale.) I've been casually planning to read Mrs. Dalloway sometime ever since then; I am finding it mildly interesting and coincidental I actually picked it up and read it the year I am 52, the same age as Mrs. Dalloway on this day of her party.

Comments

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

A fantastic winter folktale, bleak and beautiful The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey Reagan Arthur / Back Bay Books The Snow Child is a beautifully written story inspired by a Russian fairy tale. In a rare moment of playfulness, a childless couple named Jack and Mabel lovingly create a little girl made of snow. The next day, the snow person is gone but Jack and Mabel begin seeing glimpses and finding evidence of a young girl in the woods near their homesteading cabin. Jack and Mabel have come to Alaska in the 1920s with hopes of a new start. They’re barely surviving on the return from their crops, farmed exclusively by Jack, while Mabel makes baked goods for a little extra money. They’re considering admitting defeat and leaving Alaska behind when new connections with others in the area, including the mysterious snow child, give them new hope. The atmospheric differences in the writing between the spare, exhausting, isolated despair of Jack and Mabel at the beginning ...

The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn

Vampires in the Club Kismet is a psychologist in Denver. She meets with a 20-something client, Midnight, whose parents insist on a counseling appointment because of Midnight's infatuation with the underground vampire culture in Denver's nightlife scene, particularly the crowd that hangs out at The Crypt, a popular goth/alternative dance club. Midnight insists that vampires are real and wants to become one; Kismet discovers Midnight is also a lonely individual whose mother is unavailable and whose father is a long-time untreated addict. Kismet becomes interested in the vampire culture and considers writing a book about the psychology of vampire wannabes. Then she meets Devereaux, the owner of The Crypt nightclub. After meeting Devereaux, and other not-near-as-pleasant night walkers who habitually terrorize others, Kismet doesn't know what to believe about whether or not vampires really exist. But she does know her feelings for Devereaux have magic intensity. This is a se...

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Medieval story of strong-willed nuns in a 12th-century English abbey In 12 Century England, Queen Eleanor sends her half sister (in-law), Marie, to a failing abbey where the nuns and other inhabitants are starving and for the most part miserable. Marie at first wants nothing more than to escape the harsh environment but she eventually refocuses on how she, with her skill, iron will, and visions, can turn things around for herself and those in her care. I love Lauren Groff's writing style and her many and varied stories. The first several pages of Matrix had a bit of the atmosphere of Hamnet, one of my favorite stories the year I read it, but it turned into something a bit more distant or remote for me once Marie reached the abbey, and stayed that way for one-third to one-half of the book. I read with renewed interest once Marie came into her power and started making vision-spurred changes at the abbey. Seems like a strong allegory for feminism, a thoughtful take on the challenges ...

Midnight (W)rite ~ Book reviews and other curiosities

Search This Blog