Mrs. Dalloway

Thought I'd be safe with a short classic but that was DENSE. It's a little blurred by the stream of consciousness narrative, but there is an endless array of sharp observations about humanity in the individual and as a group, about society itself and how it grinds people down. What struck me most was the heartbreaking reality of a writer lending first hand experience with how poorly mental health conditions were understood, treated, disclaimed or ignored at this period in history. How suffocating living under a narrow range of expectations is; how suffocating it is to know/discover you'll only be ‘loved' if you behave a certain way, show the right interests, associate accordingly, equally as oppressive a notion for both men and women; how suffocating to have another cling to you as their only possibility of happiness because they don't consider they have any ability to pursue actions which should make themselves happy.  Written in 1925 at the epicenter of the ‘British Empire' so be on the lookout for every unenlightened, offensive sentiment that came with that era. The sapphic romance references were as impressive in their honesty as they were saddening in their brevity.  If I weren't scrambling for sensemaking in run on sentences I may have been more captivated by the descriptions. If I knew London, I might have more kinship with the intimate placement of various characters throughout this day.