Reviews

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

phoebesfile's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bruinuclafan's review against another edition

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1.0

First let me say that Virginia Woolf is an unbelievably talented writer, and that talent is on full display in The Waves. But this book was not for me. I'll leave it at that.

melissa_muses's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

The most unique fiction I’ve ever read. Lovely and poetic, stream of consciousness, inner monologue reflection on the human experience with the oddest sense of time. I enjoyed it for its genius, but did find myself speed reading towards the end of the book. Some lovely lines that will stay with me. 

benmcc91's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

marisafreeelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sea_sea's review against another edition

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It was a good book, just the wrong time. I‘ll pick it up again in summer :)

spenkevich's review against another edition

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5.0

Easily one of my favorite books ever written. The 'waves' become a compound metaphor of sheer brilliance; we are all a harmony in the chorus of life, a part of a whole but each an individual part of beauty equally beautiful in solidarity as the whole. I wish I could write a single sentence as glorious as Woolf.

changeinpressure's review against another edition

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3.0

Gorgeous, gorgeous prose. I think that to really love a book I need to be engaged with a plot which is unfortunate really since this was very stream-of-consciousness, I assume that’s why it took me so long to finish it.

chris_dech's review against another edition

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4.0

Another melancholic sea-related book by Woolf, this one lands better than To The Lighthouse, and I think the main reason is that it simply feels less disjointed.

Every character lands, every character has their moment and every character stands out. And the story just bleeds nostalgia and that bittersweet longing for a time that cannot be recovered.

Perhaps my only complaint is that the book isn't long enough, and some characters get a little more time than others than is perhaps deserved. But this is certainly my favourite Woolf work that I've read thus far.

Beautiful, ethereal, magical.

8/10

sharktownwoman's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I had a hard time with this book. Slogged through it barely understanding what was happening. Some of the writing was pretty, but by the end I was feeling really annoyed with it since I had no sense of the narrative. I think I would have benefited from reading this in an English class, with a professor to guide me.