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From Amazon.com
As Clarissa Dalloway walks through London on a fine June morning, a sky-writing plane captures her attention. Crowds stare upwards to decipher the message while the plane turns and loops, leaving off one letter, picking up another. Like the airplane's swooping path, Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway follows Clarissa and those whose lives brush hers--from Peter Walsh, whom she spurned years ago, to her daughter Elizabeth, the girl's angry teacher, Doris Kilman, and war-shocked Septimus Warren Smith, who is sinking into madness.
As Mrs. Dalloway prepares for the party she is giving that evening, a series of events intrudes on her composure. Her husband is invited, without her, to lunch with Lady Bruton (who, Clarissa notes anxiously, gives the most amusing luncheons). Meanwhile, Peter Walsh appears, recently from India, to criticize and confide in her. His sudden arrival evokes memories of a distant past, the choices she made then, and her wistful friendship with Sally Seton.
Woolf then explores the relationships between women and men, and between women, as Clarissa muses, "It was something central which permeated; something warm which broke up surfaces and rippled the cold contact of man and woman, or of women together.... Her relation in the old days with Sally Seton. Had not that, after all, been love?" While Clarissa is transported to past afternoons with Sally, and as she sits mending her green dress, Warren Smith catapults desperately into his delusions. Although his troubles form a tangent to Clarissa's web, they undeniably touch it, and the strands connecting all these characters draw tighter as evening deepens. As she immerses us in each inner life, Virginia Woolf offers exquisite, painful images of the past bleeding into the present, of desire overwhelmed by society's demands. --Joannie Kervran Stangeland
From AudioFile
Published in 1925 and showing the influence of Freud and Joyce, this perceptive, richly textured novel follows the title's society matron through one seemingly insignificant June day. In the hands of a mediocre interpreter, the whole exercise would sound tediously empty. Fortunately, Eileen Atkins, whose one-woman show on Woolf, A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN, captivated The West End and Broadway, displays a thorough intimacy with both style and subtext. She vigorously shares her insight, along with her excellent taste and technique, with the listener. Technically not as fine as the writing and performance, this recording nonetheless stands out as an important work beautifully delivered. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mrs. Dalloway - A Difficult but Satisfying Read,
By Laura Thornton (Carleton University) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mrs Dalloway (Paperback)
Virginia Woolf's classic novel Mrs. Dalloway is an interesting and challenging read. The plot is simple enough, but the writing is complex and challenges the reader to understand the text in ways that many are not accustomed to. The stream-of-consciousness style is not often used in novels written for today's audiences. I found myself relying on an online study guide to help me interpret what was happening in the story. I often had to reread passages several time, thinking critically about the meanings and then referring to other's interpretations of the work to help me comprehend what was happening. Perhaps this is a byproduct of growing up in the information age, and expecting all the answers to be readily available, without having to work for them. The various characters in Mrs. Dalloway are relatable and you empathize with them. You want to know more about them and get even more inside their heads. However, due to the style of writing, this is difficult. As you read the novel you loose track of whose thoughts you are currently reading, and what their objective for the day is. There are so many a characters that it is hard to keep track of them all and this is unfortunate, because you want to stay connected with them all. Their lives, while simple, are engaging and leave the reader wanting to be invited to Clarissa Dalloway's party, simply to meet all of them. I recommend this novel to anyone who is up for a challenging read. It truly is a classic novel that everyone should read. If you are willing to put in the work, the story will reward you. Virginia Woolf was one of the most prolific and influential writers of the 20th century, and Mrs. Dalloway proves why this is true.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I Am!,
By edzaf (Chandler, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mrs. Dalloway (Paperback)
I read this novel as a prelude to Michael Cunningham's "The Hours" knowing it was homage to Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway." Reading Woolf took me back to my high school days when reading classic literature was a requirement. I am certainly glad I did not have to take an exam on this book. Call me a contemporary book snob, but I found Woolf's stream of consciousness writing style (some sentences often take up nearly a page) unbearable at times. Perhaps I am just a victim of a poor attention span as well. I think I would be "getting it" as I began reading a passage from "Mrs. Dalloway" only to scratch my head wondering what was going on and even who was narrating as I put down the book for the evening. Nevertheless, I do realize and respect this novel's place in literature. It certainly has literary merit as Woolf's use of language is quite beautiful and stunning at times. Likewise, it must have been groundbreaking back in the 1920s in regards to its concept (a single day in the life of a London wife) and themes (the mental anguish of the title character, particularly her lingering love for a girl she shared a single kiss with in her youth). Am I sorry I read "Mrs. Dalloway"? No, it certainly made "The Hours" a much richer reading experience. For those who plan on reading Cunningham's contemporty spin, I would cautiously recommend a stab at "Mrs. Dalloway." Overall, though, I have to say Woolf was just simply not my cup of tea.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stylish Prose Gaudily Frames a Day-Long Character Study Emphasizing Self Talk,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Mrs. Dalloway (Audio Cassette)
"Wealth makes many friends,
But the poor is separated from his friend." -- Proverbs 19:4 (NKJV) Think of Mrs. Dalloway as being the anti-Ulysses (the James Joyce's masterpiece). The concepts for the novels are similar, but the styles are polar opposites. I recommend becoming familiar with both works in order to appreciate the different ways that character studies can be developed during a day by relying extensively on thought life. Both are brilliant, but in much different ways. Mrs. Dalloway is English, delicate, fussy, ornate, and feminine. Ulysses is Irish, crude, unrestrained, common, and masculine. What stands out the most about Mrs. Dalloway are the many original descriptive sentences and phrases that look as though they went through 200 rewritings to be so polished and complete. Their expressions overwhelm the story at time because the reader is left gasping at a stunning turn of phrase or an idea. In writing, you can sit and admire and forget to read on. A blessing of listening to the excellent reading by Virginia Leishman is that the brilliant writing is better integrated into the story by forcing you to keep going. I enjoyed the experience. I don't want to discourage you from reading the book first, but I believe you will appreciate the overall craft more if you listen before reading. It's the same advice I provide for William Faulkner's books. There's a beauty in the oral expression that is otherwise lost. I found the story to feel a little dated. I also found myself not being terribly engaged by Mrs. Dalloway or her husband. That's a pretty big problem to have when listening to or reading a novel. Someone today who wrote historical fiction about this period would do it differently. Naturally, if I were only rating the marvelous ornate writing, this would be five stars. Most writers can only sit back in awe of such writing. On my best day, I wouldn't be worthy of holding a candle for Virginia Woolf. Enjoy!
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