Virginia Woolf - Mrs Dalloway

Clarissa Dalloway is preparing to host a party. She is the kind of woman you would pass on the street without a thought, and Woolf lets us see the dreams, fears, foibles, passion and pain that swirl endlessly inside Mrs. Dalloway. We follow Clarissa through the course of a single day, and as she goes about her errands, preparing for a party she's giving that night, her lost love for an old flame resurfaces unexpectedly; her never-consummated lesbian longing for a childhood friend; and her endless yearning for some resolution, direction, permanence.

Comment: Another book for one of my book clubs. Why this book was chosen, frankly I have no idea. I don't remember voting for it, must have been one of those I didn't pick but others did. I actually have another book by her to read, it's in my TBR list and to be quite honest I think it will remain there for a long time yet...

This book isn't very big and portrays one day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as she gets ready to host a party. Throughout the book we see her thoughts and memories and all the people who'll attend the party, one way or another. The narrative is beautiful, full of interesting metaphors and sentences.

To start with, I have a question..is this book considered a classic? I guess it follows a certain classic method of narrative.I understand many people like the poetic narrative of this author and she is revered as a genius in her words and depictions of what someone might be thinking. I got that from this book and it was a promising story and I thought the plot would be interesting.

However, I must be one of those people who can't follow a genius' mind because for the life of me, the book was as boring as they can be.

The first pages weren't so bad, but the narrator would jump thoughts and scenes and the sentences stopped making sense at some point. Then the focus would be on someone else and the thoughts would change and I lost track of who'd say what and why would it matter.

Some of the friends in the book club didn't even finish the book, so I feel quite successful to have completed the reading although I don't feel that good because I couldn't enjoy it as much as all the critics say we should considering the author is an excellent writer, one of the best of her time. Thank God taste is selective and personal.

The story didn't make much sense to me. I think in trying to bring a serious tone to the story, while attempting to create a certain sense of there being a right way to read it, I mean, it's almost like we should appreciate reading it for what it is, a great work. I didn't feel this way and I don't think I'm a stupid person but I couldn't see the beauty of the book itself, only some of the sentences used but in the end the story was boring and unattractive for me.

Still, it allowed me a way to comparison to other books by her I might read one day or even other books similar to this one whether in plot or narrative style but I don't think it's likely I would.