Woolfed-out

I just finished Mrs. Dalloway this past week, and it was a doozy. I am Virginia-Woolfed-out, for the time being (To the Lighthouse is on the list, and I will read it eventually).

Here's what I didn't like about her -- a) the stream-of-consciousness style; b) most of the characters, particularly Septimus; c) how the book managed to sprout 10 new pages for every 10 I read. Remember that feeling you got in high school, reading Watership Down or something similar, and the book just would never end? Well, that's what Mrs. Dalloway did to me.

I've never liked stream-of-consciousness, whether it be Joyce's writing in Ulysees or Kerouac with On the Road (the former is banished from the list because I refuse to read it again; the latter is on the list, and I hope to like it this time). But what bothered me most about Woolf was that her stream-of-consciousness didn't feel genuine. I was not convinced that she understands what a World War I veteran (Septimus) would think on the day he kills himself. I've read too much WWI poetry and current war writings, and this just didn't feel authentic to me. So it irritated me.

I think there's brilliance in the way Woolf constructs the plot and weaves the characters together. I can tell why this is on anyone's "best of" list - though on my "best of," it will sit at last place until I read something that irritates me even more.

Some of you suggested I keep my own tally, as I read through the list. So far, that makes:

1) The Sun Also Rises
50) Mrs. Dalloway

I look forward to filling in the rest. 

PS. This month, I also listened to Water for Elephants on CD, which I would recommend to anyone looking for a page-turner. The CD version was particularly well read.