A review by violetturtledove
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-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? Yes
4.5
I honestly didn't think I was going to like this one. I started it and saw how it was set out, with various characters saying what they saw, describing the scene in first person present tense and I thought 'oh god is it all like this?'
It's not told like a 'normal' novel and it took me about half the book to get into the rhythm of the narrative... I was aware that there was a lot more symbolism than plot. It's almost more poetry than prose and I struggle with poetry. But then something clicked in my head and I started noticing how beautiful the phrases were, how I was becoming moved by the characters lives, how drawn in I was by the atmosphere. It's beautiful and reflective, you have to be in the right frame of mind for it of course but once you are it's pretty amazing. I'm already thinking about how I'll re-read it in the future and pick up on so many little details that I didn't appreciate this time.
It's not told like a 'normal' novel and it took me about half the book to get into the rhythm of the narrative... I was aware that there was a lot more symbolism than plot. It's almost more poetry than prose and I struggle with poetry. But then something clicked in my head and I started noticing how beautiful the phrases were, how I was becoming moved by the characters lives, how drawn in I was by the atmosphere. It's beautiful and reflective, you have to be in the right frame of mind for it of course but once you are it's pretty amazing. I'm already thinking about how I'll re-read it in the future and pick up on so many little details that I didn't appreciate this time.