what a lark! what a plunge!
What do you reread for?
I'm rereading Mrs Dalloway for I think the sixth time. God, do I love this book. This time I'm thinking about character -- about how one gets to know a character. And wouldn't you know it? The thing suddenly seems to be practically a textbook for revealing character. Especially in the way strangers walking by in the park will get a little shot of backstory, poor Maisie Johnson terrified of London and Septimus Smith and knowing she will always remember that moment -- that kind of thing. Each of the main characters -- Clarissa Dalloway, Septimus Smith, Peter Walsh -- reveals what he or she sees of the others, of themselves, of strangers, of spouses -- and we see them all in turn through each others' eyes. It's really perfect -- so skillfully done.
I guess I think it's my favorite book ever. But then I feel bad for all my other books, and don't want to upset them or anything.
Hm, am I the only person who does that? Worries about the feelings of inanimate objects?
I'm rereading Mrs Dalloway for I think the sixth time. God, do I love this book. This time I'm thinking about character -- about how one gets to know a character. And wouldn't you know it? The thing suddenly seems to be practically a textbook for revealing character. Especially in the way strangers walking by in the park will get a little shot of backstory, poor Maisie Johnson terrified of London and Septimus Smith and knowing she will always remember that moment -- that kind of thing. Each of the main characters -- Clarissa Dalloway, Septimus Smith, Peter Walsh -- reveals what he or she sees of the others, of themselves, of strangers, of spouses -- and we see them all in turn through each others' eyes. It's really perfect -- so skillfully done.
I guess I think it's my favorite book ever. But then I feel bad for all my other books, and don't want to upset them or anything.
Hm, am I the only person who does that? Worries about the feelings of inanimate objects?
Labels: virginia woolf
posted by amy at
10:08 PM
8 Comments:
I used to alternate which foot I put my shoe on first - the right one day, the left the next. I didn't want to play favorites with my feet. For someone as clumsy as myself, the possibility of revenge was a major concern.
What an excellent question!
The most general statement I can make is that I reread for atmosphere. Certain detective novels offer a world that is dangerous -- but dangerous according to certain rules; the danger can be exciting and even comforting when real life is not. Good spy novels do this as well, with an additional sense of a bureaucracy operating around the characters, which is a strange thing to enjoy in a book but I do sometimes.
The atmosphere of a literary novel is perhaps a function of its narrator. I think Nabokov's Ada or Ardor exemplifies this. I reread that novel to experience its singular exuberance, and I reread King Lear to feel the approaching storm and doom.
Some of the books I left in an uninhabited farmhouse in the states are simply seething.
Wait, now when you say "inantimate objects," you wouldn't include my Mac in that category, would you? I mean, wouldn't it be insulted?
How do you explain "What a lark! What a plunge!"? I know 'lark' here conveys the mood (one of joy, that's for sure). But can you please substitute it with another English equivalent? And what about "plunge"? Is there any connection between this "plunge" and the "plunge" in the third line of the same paragraph？
I'd appreciate it if you can help me with the above questions.
wow, anonymous, this is the weirdest comment i've ever gotten. um, it's a quote from the first page of "Mrs Dalloway," that's all.
Of course, I know it is quoted from Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway". I can't see anything weird about my questions. I just need your answers. That's all.
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