The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia WoolfMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This didn't really work for me – the connection made between Clarissa and Septimus at the end felt extremely forced and artificial, and the associated idea that suicide can be life-affirming felt crass. There are interesting moments and metaphors – the skywriting a meta commentary on interpretation (of people and novels) is a powerful climax in the middle of the book. Septimus's struggles with mental health, and Clarissa's queer sexuality, are sympathetically drawn. But ultimately the narrative voice drawing together the bits and pieces in the novel felt like it was overiding the characters rather than revealing them.
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