a book
Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf · 2002 · 197 pages
Clarissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is shell-shocked and on the brink of madness. Smith's day interweaves with that of Clarissa and her friends, their lives converging as the party reaches it glittering climax.
recommended by 6 people
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Jennifer Connelly
“I am a huge fan of Virginia Woolf. I love the way she puts words together, and especially the way this book is structured. Two characters, Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith, are struggling with the aftereffects of World War I and, in a way, both searching for meaning in their lives. Early on, Clarissa thinks, ‘What a lark! What a plunge!’ She uses all these exclamations and has this girlish way about her. For his part, Smith is running around rambling about universal love. He’s passed into what we call madness. Though Clarissa feels vaguely unsatisfied, societal conventions, like the need to be punctual for dinner parties, still are important to her. At the end, you don’t know who has found the truth. It’s a fascinating musing on these shell-shocked people and the meaning of life in a war-torn society.”↗
Jon Fosse
“In my early twenties, I read several of the major modernist novelists. And I fell in love with the novels of Virginia Woolf. The first I read was Mrs Dalloway. To me, it felt like she just throws the words out and each and every one fell exactly, precisely, where they should in a graceful movement as the most beautiful literary music you could ask for. My understanding of literature was another after I read this novel.”↗
Nia DaCosta
“I was really struck by the craft of the prose and watching the characters to find their purpose and happiness, and I found that so tragic, fascinating and heartbreaking. What is so interesting about this book is that it cracks open the quotidian of happiness.”↗
Corey Robin
“@BradburySlocum I re-read Mrs. Dalloway. I read Death in Venice and Buddenbrooks. I'm reading Emma. I've loved all of them. But they're also for a book project.”↗
