Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf | BOOK REVIEW

Book : Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia woolf 

pages: 194 

Genre: Classic

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"Nothing exists outside us except a state of mind, he thinks, a desire for solace, for relief, for something outside the miserable pigmies, these feeble, these ugly, these craven men and women."

It took me a lot of time to get used to the writing of Woolf. Completing this book wasn't a piece of cake, but I'm glad that I stuck by it. I don't know if this was the right book to delve into the world of Virginia woolf and explore her writing but nevertheless, I'm glad that I did. She was on my list of writers to read in 2020. If this review isn't good or you don't agree with it, then it's because I don't read a lot of classics and don't have the expertise to review it 🙈

Coming to Mrs. Dalloway, the plot of this 194 pages book is many times baffling and sometimes quite ambiguous and there were plenty of times when I was scratching my head to understand the meaning of the text. The story ebbs and flows, one minute you're flowing smoothly with the current and then comes a sudden jolt which makes you question what just transpired. My reading hit some rough patches due to this and it made me quite disinterested at times to even read a single page. It's not all bad, there are plenty of moments in it that will make you feel that pull of Woolf's brilliance and her command on her craft and that's where the story delights you.

Woolf brings out  beauty in not just the nature but humans too, the way she describes the protagonist, Mrs. Dalloway and her singular character. All the characters and their nuances are described so explicitly, bringing out their quirkiness. She makes them so believable and full of volatile emotions - be it bereft Peter Walsh or the abhorrence in Miss Kilman.

"She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on."  

For me, the characters of Septimus and Rezia deserve special mention because they gave the story a whole new dimension/ perspective. Woolf gives us a glimpse into the mind of a person who suffers from PTSD after being part of the World War and his wife who is helpless and heartbroken over the loss of a person she used to know and love. Their dynamic is completely different from the rest of the characters. Their life is quite chaotic as compared to the other characters in the story. 

Would I recommend you to read this book- I don't know 🤷🏻‍♀️, because reading one of the most accomplished female writer isn't a walk in the park. Moreover, I have just started reading classics. Maybe, you can pick some of her easier works to start with and then read this one. That's all I can suggest for now. I would also like to mention that I read this book as part of the BOTM (March)  @bindersbookclub and part of the readalong hosted by @read.dream.repeat. for her #woolfinmarch. People like you are doing such a good job by helping readers like me, pick up classics and writers which probably wouldn't have come into my reading radar.