N's Reviews > Mrs. Dalloway

One of the greatest books I’ve ever read, it deserves all of the glory and praise it’s received over the last 100 years, and will continue to be talked about because of its authenticity and ability to affect the psyche.

It’s an intimate story about unrequited love, it’s also a story about the power of choosing your own families and loved ones. Clarissa was always so lucky to have Richard and Sally- and when she feels like a “lark” “with a plunge” after she buys the flowers for her big dinner party- I was hooked.

Funny enough, I read Woolf much later than I read James Joyce, Toni Morrison, and Katharine Mansfield, all masters of Modernism. And like Ulysses- Mrs Dalloway takes place in a day.

And when I read Mrs. Dalloway, I knew why immediately Woolf was one of the greatest writers of the English language.

It’s also an epic, harrowing tale about poor Septimus who cannot get over the trauma of having endured World War II. His Cassandra-like vision of the world on the brink of violence and despair makes him the prophetic, sacrificial lamb of the novel. Woolf’s rich language and prose shimmers like crystal, and it’s as devastatingly sharp and bitter even in moments of reprieve.

The ghosts of the past and present often weave throughout this marvelous novel, often tugging at our sleeves and our hearts.

I did see the marvelous 1997 film adaptation starring the eternal Vanessa Redgrave as Clarissa. The film shimmers with the possibilities of love and queerness as well, that only enhances the book.

And no, I’ll write about The Hours, that most famous riff on Mrs. Dalloway for another review…