"The Waves" by Virginia Woolf: An Analysis of the Novel (1859-1962)

PhotoMan: I was concerned at the outset, the style of writing beong quite unconventional, even by today’s standards. Then, I fell in love woth the book. Truly writing as an art form. I am so happy I found this book.

United States on Aug 14, 2023

SassyShopper48: This is the first time l've ever read a book by Virginia Woolf, it is certainly different to other books l have read. A friend explained the book to me and then it made more sense - you're reading their thoughts not a conversation, once l knew that it made reading easier and l have enjoyed the book. Would recommend this book/author to other readers. Other book l purchased at the same time was Whose's afraid of Virginia Woolf - next to read.......

United Kingdom on Jun 07, 2021

Rajesh Kumar Sharma: I'm in love with the prose of this book. Such flawless sentences, beautiful phrases strung together creating a mirage of loveliness.

India on Apr 14, 2021

Des Lewis: Some passages that cannot be conveyed, only luxuriated in for real. Give the text a go, as its meaning will seep into your mind, as characters are apotheosised in their growing age, in various extrapolations of existence, such as birds.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.
Above is one of its conclusions.

United Kingdom on Feb 09, 2021

samvedna singh: The Waves published in 1931 is the author's most unique experimental work unlike traditional genre comprising six monologues each presented by six main characters of the book all these six voices speak directly to the readers about community and individuality. characters are unassociated yet together they beautifully compose a silent central consciousness.

India on Jun 17, 2020

Brian C.: For the first 50 or 100 pages of The Waves I was enthralled. Late in the novel Woolf has a character muse on the blurry outlines of our everyday consciousness where there is a "rushing stream of broken dreams, nursery rhymes, street cries, half-finished sentences and sights...There is nothing one can fish up in a spoon; nothing one can call an event. Yet it is alive too and deep, this stream" (255-256). Woolf has set herself the task of describing six lives from the standpoint of this stream which can never truly be captured in language and the novel is at times revelatory. One learns a lot about oneself reading this book.

However, it is difficult to sustain for 300 pages. While there are priceless gems scattered throughout the whole book after 50 or 100 pages it becomes a bit repetitive and tedious and I found myself longing for the surface. It just felt like too much to be submerged in this stream for 300 straight pages. I think in general there needs to be rhythm in works of fiction. If there is a climax there also have to be duller sections and periods of build up and return. If there are revelations or epiphanies they need to be separated by periods of routine. If...

United States on Apr 27, 2020

CiscoD: It is, of course, a brilliant experimental novel by one of the greatest minds of English literature. Not for everyone, but the writing is astonishing. Its reputation and Woolf's are well established. I'm only writing this review to have the opportunity to complain about the Kindle edition, which was clearly scanned and never thereafter edited, so it's full of glitches that thump and bump the reader like potholes. One pauses and wonders did she mean "Ups" or "lips?" Of course, it's obvious, but why have to guess? The book must be pure profit at this point. It's embarrassing that the publisher had no more pride in their work than this. Still, a fine read.

United States on Mar 08, 2017

Mr Baggs: Not for the faint hearted reader! The style of writing and the the format of the book are something quite different. Here you will find in analysis of the psyche which scratches beneath the surface to reveal the subjects as they are, rather than as they would wish to appear. The chronological approach emphasizes changes - one is constantly asking what is genetic, what is learned? As an in depth writing the book is interesting - there are brilliant passages, some a little abstract.

United Kingdom on Apr 08, 2015

Phil Clapham: I have been a devoted fan of Virginia Woolf since I was a teenager and first discovered the brilliance of her writing in "To The Lighthouse"... after which I devoured everything she had written, including her diaries and essays. There is nothing else like The Waves in the whole of English literature, before or since. The best summary of it I have ever heard was the author Jeanette Winterson's comment that it represented "a 200-page insult to mediocrity". Indeed it does.

Six characters, followed from childhood to old age, narrating what they see, think and feel, always in the present tense. As with her other novels, Woolf's insights into the individual's inner realm of emotion and thought are keen and complex. But the true magic of the book lies in the writing and the way all this is expressed. The language is uniquely lyrical; Woolf's words almost paint pictures on the page.

This is not to say that The Waves is for everyone. So try this simple test: pick it off the shelf in a bookstore and read the first dozen or so pages. You will likely have one of two reactions: either that it is extraordinary, magical prose poetry, or a less prosaic "Huh?" If you're in the latter...

United States on Jan 07, 2014

Mark: The Waves is an extraordinary book, narrated by the wind that swirls around a family and their beach home for decades. I have never read another book where a natural force, like the wind, narrates, but the literary device is so very effective as the wind presents the family with no prejudices - just as an observer that really is a part of the family and at the same time, has distance that allows for pure observation. To me, one of the most important books in English literature. The device does not feel like a device. At first, it is hard to understand where the narration is coming from - as the book starts with the wind narrating. But easily, as one reads further, one falls into pace with that wind, which is so unsentimental that a certain purity of observation is achieved. Really amazing.

United States on Dec 22, 2013