Virginia, Clarissa and Me
If you look in the What I'm Doing section of my blog page, under the What I'm Reading section you'll see Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway".
I've read Woolf before: "To the Lighthouse" , which I read quickly and enjoyed and "Orlando: A Biography" which I didn't enjoy. Mrs. Dalloway, although I'm enjoying the story, is proving a challenge to read. I don't know if I'm not focused enough, but I'm having a tough time not losing track of the story and find myself having to reread sections.
Since I left the book club of which I was a member for 10 years, I've started using the 50 page rule - where if I don't like the book after 50 pages, I stop reading it. However, I can't say I don't like the book, in large part because it reminds me so much of Michael Cunningham's "The Hours" which is evocative of and inspired by "Mrs. Dalloway". I find myself matching up the characters in the "Mrs. Dalloway" chapter of "The Hours" with the characters in the real "Mrs. Dalloway" - I think I've got them all.
I'm going to keep reading...hopefully I will eventually set sail in Virginia's stream-of-consciousness and bask in Clarissa's musings.
Have you read "Mrs. Dalloway"? Was it an easy read for you? Have you ever read a particularly challenging book which you wound up enjoying?
Labels: Books
posted by Hilda @ 11:06 PM
2 Comments:
I enjoyed "Mrs. Dalloway," most probably because I listened to it as an audio book. I find this works really well for capital-L Literature type books that others tell me are cumbersome.
For example, someone congratulated me on finishing "The Corrections," and asked me how I dealt with the page-long run on sentences and endless ruminations. Having listened to the book while commuting back and forth between Miami and Orlando, I had no idea it was considered a difficult book and instead enjoyed the hubris of the characters.
BTW, I listened to "Orlando" as an audio book, too, and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Very interesting Toni. Although I've been told time and time again that I would enjoy listening to books on tape, I've never heard such a compelling reason to actually try it.
I think I will go over my reading list and maybe ask Santa to bring me some books on tape for some of the more cumbersome tomes on the list. Thanks :)
As for Virginia Woolf, I read "To The Lighthouse". I did enjoy it and appreciate the mastery of the writting but it's not one of my favorite books. "Mrs. Dalloway" is on my list to read. If I like that one, then I will continue reading her.
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