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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
The Waves was like a long poem and I'm not good with poetry, but Virginia's world is beautiful, smart and quite disturbing... There's this anxiety that was there all the time, so reading 228 pages took me 13 days and a lot of concentration. I will definitely reread it in the next few years.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
"...the eternal renewal, the incessant rise and fall and fall and rise again ... The waves broke on the shore."
Very strange book. I really liked it though.
Very strange book. I really liked it though.
THE ONLY REASON I PUSHED MYSELF TO READ THIS BOOK WAS SO THAT I COULD THROW HATE ON GOODREADS, BUT HEAR ME OUT!
If you take your time to read this damn thing all the way through, you may be surprised. Or at least I was. I thought this was going to be such a boring and annoying and hard to read novel. Which it was, but it wasn't as bad as my expectations were making it seem. I guess sometimes my brain likes to make things scary for me :))
The writing style is the most difficult aspect about this novel. There is no plot, only monologues that go on and on AND ON AND ON. AND ON! However, if you are stubborn like me, you will also go on and on and on and finish this novel before it finishes you. I read it in one sitting because I knew that, if I let too much time pass between reading sessions, I will never finish it AND THEN I COULD NOT THROW HATE ON IT.
Anyway, it was way better than Mrs.Dalloway. Maybe with Virginia Woolf, the more I read from her, the easier it is for me to get into this kind of writing. I am still willing to read more from her. The bad thing about me is that I am stubborn, it's my way or no way :))
I still don't understand all the hype surrounding woman Woolf. It's just...WAY TOO MUCH FOR GOOD SHE ACTUALLY IS. I will try her essays, maybe those will convince me.
Now I will go and reward myself with a cup of coffee for finishing this novel. I DESERVE IT!
*edited*
WHAT ON EARTH WAS I THINKING?! THIS IS MASTERPIECE! I guess that the way it was presented in my English Literature seminar made me love it. I will definitely read it again in the future, bur for now I will just change the initial rating. I will not erase the initial review, just because I want it to remind myself how silly I was :))
If you take your time to read this damn thing all the way through, you may be surprised. Or at least I was. I thought this was going to be such a boring and annoying and hard to read novel. Which it was, but it wasn't as bad as my expectations were making it seem. I guess sometimes my brain likes to make things scary for me :))
The writing style is the most difficult aspect about this novel. There is no plot, only monologues that go on and on AND ON AND ON. AND ON! However, if you are stubborn like me, you will also go on and on and on and finish this novel before it finishes you. I read it in one sitting because I knew that, if I let too much time pass between reading sessions, I will never finish it AND THEN I COULD NOT THROW HATE ON IT.
Anyway, it was way better than Mrs.Dalloway. Maybe with Virginia Woolf, the more I read from her, the easier it is for me to get into this kind of writing. I am still willing to read more from her. The bad thing about me is that I am stubborn, it's my way or no way :))
I still don't understand all the hype surrounding woman Woolf. It's just...WAY TOO MUCH FOR GOOD SHE ACTUALLY IS. I will try her essays, maybe those will convince me.
Now I will go and reward myself with a cup of coffee for finishing this novel. I DESERVE IT!
*edited*
WHAT ON EARTH WAS I THINKING?! THIS IS MASTERPIECE! I guess that the way it was presented in my English Literature seminar made me love it. I will definitely read it again in the future, bur for now I will just change the initial rating. I will not erase the initial review, just because I want it to remind myself how silly I was :))
"'Heaven be praised,' I said, 'we need not whip this prose into poetry. The little language is enough.'"
Basically my sentiments.
An interesting concept. Woolf is great at description. But there's just too much of it. No plot, pure stream of consciousness but with characters I found pretty bland. I didn't care at all about the death of Percival, who they all thought would be some great leader or whatever, but he was a colonizer. Oh yeah, there's a lot of random racism in this book too.
To me the most interesting part of this very tedious novel was the transition from childhood to adolescence and the complete shift of narrative style. That is not something that ever occurs again.
This was my first work by Woolf I've read, and I doubt it was a good introduction.
Not bad, just boring as hell.
Basically my sentiments.
An interesting concept. Woolf is great at description. But there's just too much of it. No plot, pure stream of consciousness but with characters I found pretty bland. I didn't care at all about the death of Percival, who they all thought would be some great leader or whatever, but he was a colonizer. Oh yeah, there's a lot of random racism in this book too.
To me the most interesting part of this very tedious novel was the transition from childhood to adolescence and the complete shift of narrative style. That is not something that ever occurs again.
This was my first work by Woolf I've read, and I doubt it was a good introduction.
Not bad, just boring as hell.
estoy muy triste e igual lloro escribiendo esto. "started: 30 apr 2024, finished: 13 jun 2024". no me explico cómo ha sido un vínculo formado en el cortito tiempo en el que se lee un libro (y eso que leo lento, porque no es un libro de leer antes de irte a la cama). llegaste la primera noche con el libro bajo el brazo y yo, siempre desconfiada, no te llevé un libro de intercambio porque no confiaba en que nos volviésemos a ver. pero se transformó en muchas noches muchas tardes algunas mañanas juntas y qué bonito. qué suerte haber leído este libro con tus frases subrayadas. te escribí ayer una postal de despedida del tamaño de un pulgar y solo cabía una frase, así que escribí: we need not whip this prose into poetry. the little language is enough"
tú y yo hablamos mucho y también compartimos esos gestos pequeñitos del amor y del cariño. gracias.
el libro me ha encantado. el principio me flipó, cómo esos niños narran como adultos las experiencias infantiles. me encanta la complejidad de las relaciones y que sea un alegato sobre la línea desdibujada entre el amor y la amistad, sobre vínculos entre personas tan distintas. tú tan rhoda y yo tan bernard. el día antes de irte leí las últimas 60 páginas muy lento porque me venías a la mente todo el tiempo. como escribí un día después de vernos: este vínculo pide calma. no nos metemos prisa.
tú y yo hablamos mucho y también compartimos esos gestos pequeñitos del amor y del cariño. gracias.
el libro me ha encantado. el principio me flipó, cómo esos niños narran como adultos las experiencias infantiles. me encanta la complejidad de las relaciones y que sea un alegato sobre la línea desdibujada entre el amor y la amistad, sobre vínculos entre personas tan distintas. tú tan rhoda y yo tan bernard. el día antes de irte leí las últimas 60 páginas muy lento porque me venías a la mente todo el tiempo. como escribí un día después de vernos: este vínculo pide calma. no nos metemos prisa.
slow-paced