Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, is incredibly different from most books out there. What makes this novel different is the manner in which it is told. It is told in a style know as free indirect discourse. What this means is that the story is told from mixture of third and first person view. This allows the author to include aspects from characters personal thoughts without much transition; this kind of writing is obvious in Mrs. Dalloway. From the first few paragraphs, it is easy for a reader to witness how the story line Of the novel bounces from one though to another without a second glance. Woolf's writing style captures the unfocused and easily distracted portion of the human mind. At the bottom of the first page of text, "For having lived in Westminister-... this moment of June," the reader gets a good idea of how free indirect discourse sounds. In the first sentence of the paragraph, Woolf goes from simply stating a fact to questioning it in a way that comes off in an incredibly natural manner that many can relate to. In other words, the writing style follows a nearly identical path as one's train of thought would in everyday life. This sort of writing style is unique to Mrs. Dalloway and other novels by Virginia Woolf.
I am looking forward to reading this book, as it is the first book by Virginia Woolf I have read. It is also the first time I have encountered this kind of writing style.
I also find Woolf's style different and interesting. Although she may not perfectly replicate human thought, she has by far come closest to it out if all the books I have read. Through free indirect discourse, Woolf is able to capture both what Clarissa thinks and what those around her think, which provides a more accurate and unbiased depiction of Clarissa. This style allows the reader to hear both the effect of different environments on Clarissa and her feelings, such as the hustle and bustle in London that makes her love life, and the narrator's more objective description of the world around her. Free indirect discourse also shows common thought, for example, of the aeroplane. As the plane travels, the vision and reflection of it travels from character to character.
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