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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
The beginning of this (first 40 pages or so) are very, very confusing but stick with it! Imagine a tv show about friends that you’ve been following around since primary school. You’ve seen them have crushes, fall in love, deal with their sexuality, experience death, embrace solitude, navigate young adulthood etc. Woolf writes them in a way that you can’t help but get attached. I really was rooting for Rhoda. I wanted her to find that inner love that makes you okay with solitude or maybe find a kindred soul. I wanted Susan to come to terms with motherhood, find joy in it but also realize that it was okay not to love it all time. It was okay to want to escape and do something that was for herself!!! I wanted Bernard to have a full life! A life as full as his characters. Anyway, I got really invested! I really love Woolf and her writing and selfishly wish she had a million books so I would never run out.
Not written like any other book of it's time, and really, not like many books today, The Waves makes you re-think what a book can do. It's the inner workings of the minds of six friends and an outsider who is sort of insider??? I couldn't possibly describe this book and do it justice.
I cannot, in good conscience, give this book anything less than five stars. The prose, in particular, is unparalleled, as is always the case with Woolf. It's an amazing piece of work and could as easily be considered poetry as fiction.
That said, I have issues with this book. With the exception of Rhoda (who could very well be Woolf herself) and sometimes Louis, the characters are largely uninteresting. To Woolf's credit, her examination of them is rarely anything but riveting, but I find myself not wanting to spend a lot of time with most of these people. There's something a little twee about the narrative as a whole, particularly toward the end. I'm reminded of the music of Belle and Sebastian, which I both like and can't stand. Again, to Woolf's credit, I never once wanted to step away from this book while I was reading it. The rhythm, flow, and imagery are so masterfully handled that, even where I found parts of it slightly pretentious, I was in no way moved to put it down. (It's worth mentioning that, in a literary wizard battle, Woolf would destroy me in the initial seconds of the first round with the merest flick of the wrist.) Finally,
In summation, despite whatever misgivings I might have, nobody can write like Virginia Woolf. Absolutely nobody.
That said, I have issues with this book. With the exception of Rhoda (who could very well be Woolf herself) and sometimes Louis, the characters are largely uninteresting. To Woolf's credit, her examination of them is rarely anything but riveting, but I find myself not wanting to spend a lot of time with most of these people. There's something a little twee about the narrative as a whole, particularly toward the end. I'm reminded of the music of Belle and Sebastian, which I both like and can't stand. Again, to Woolf's credit, I never once wanted to step away from this book while I was reading it. The rhythm, flow, and imagery are so masterfully handled that, even where I found parts of it slightly pretentious, I was in no way moved to put it down. (It's worth mentioning that, in a literary wizard battle, Woolf would destroy me in the initial seconds of the first round with the merest flick of the wrist.) Finally,
Spoiler
the first half is definitely better than the second. The first 20 pages or so might be the best, though the first restaurant scene (and the last with Percival) may have surpassed them in a couple of places. Also, I really didn't care about Percival one way or the other and think the book might have been better without him.In summation, despite whatever misgivings I might have, nobody can write like Virginia Woolf. Absolutely nobody.
reflective
slow-paced
Took a lot of effort to read, but was worth it. The soliloquy format was a unique way of showing our struggles through life, the difficulty of defining oneself, and the acceptance of the imperfect reality, and it resonates with me a lot. Appreciates the vivid and precise rendering of the waves in all the interludes.
This edition comes with a nice introduction and useful notes that explains some of the background behind the text, which was quite helpful.
This edition comes with a nice introduction and useful notes that explains some of the background behind the text, which was quite helpful.
Ok, ahora que tengo la cabeza más clara quiero dejar mis vagas ideas con respecto a la historia.
Un himno a la naturaleza, la identidad y la conexión humana, no fue fácil para mi leerla, a veces me distraía o me esforzaba quizás demasiado en comprender lo que ocurría en la realidad concreta de los personajes en lugar de enfocar mis atenciones a lo que me decía. Y dios, cuánto decía; les juro que las primeras 20 páginas fueron un torbellino sin sentido para mi.
Apenas mi cabeza captó lo cargada que sería esta lectura y lo ambiciosa que fui cuando estúpidamente dije "me leeré Las Olas, he escuchado que es bueno lol", tuve que reagrupar mis ideas y exigirme a mí misma una disciplina y atención que no presto a cualquier libro, este sin duda no es cualquier libro, pero la ocasión lo ameritaba.
¿Qué puedo decir con respecto a la trama? poco importante, ¿qué puedo decir con respecto a la experiencia? es llena, repleta. Esperaba ansiosamente encuentros entre los seis amigos porque las palabras se transformaban en sinfonías; cada uno cobraba vida cuando se veía a sí mismo en contraste con el otro. A Jinny, por ejemplo, la conocemos por su monólogo propio y el mapa que trazan en conjunto cada uno de los otros monólogos (Susan, Louis, Bernard, Neville y Rhoda).
Deseo fervientemente leerlo otra vez, hay tanto que diseccionar, pero una vez ya haya madurado en mi.
Un himno a la naturaleza, la identidad y la conexión humana, no fue fácil para mi leerla, a veces me distraía o me esforzaba quizás demasiado en comprender lo que ocurría en la realidad concreta de los personajes en lugar de enfocar mis atenciones a lo que me decía. Y dios, cuánto decía; les juro que las primeras 20 páginas fueron un torbellino sin sentido para mi.
Apenas mi cabeza captó lo cargada que sería esta lectura y lo ambiciosa que fui cuando estúpidamente dije "me leeré Las Olas, he escuchado que es bueno lol", tuve que reagrupar mis ideas y exigirme a mí misma una disciplina y atención que no presto a cualquier libro, este sin duda no es cualquier libro, pero la ocasión lo ameritaba.
¿Qué puedo decir con respecto a la trama? poco importante, ¿qué puedo decir con respecto a la experiencia? es llena, repleta. Esperaba ansiosamente encuentros entre los seis amigos porque las palabras se transformaban en sinfonías; cada uno cobraba vida cuando se veía a sí mismo en contraste con el otro. A Jinny, por ejemplo, la conocemos por su monólogo propio y el mapa que trazan en conjunto cada uno de los otros monólogos (Susan, Louis, Bernard, Neville y Rhoda).
Deseo fervientemente leerlo otra vez, hay tanto que diseccionar, pero una vez ya haya madurado en mi.
*4.5 stars
super interestingly written. it is truly like waves and like nothing I've ever read before. it's entirely in direct speech which does take a little bit of getting used to, but when you ease in it's genuinely like being told a story, being part of the characters' circle as they sit round in a playroom and recount their daily life. it's super interesting in terms of modernism too, compared to orlando, as I can see how woolf is deconstructing ideas of what literature is and plot/character/time throughout her works. i've heard that woolf was considered to be autistic by many people and I think this book is a very autistic one in my opinion; the perception and detail and innovation with which she writes is I think symptomatic of a worldview that is incredibly detail-oriented, in tune with nature and deviating from what is considered typical in literature in many ways. I think also modernism helps with this, as the literary voice diverges from what is considered 'typical'. there are a few passages, particularly by rhoda, which also paint very beautifully the concept of masking. this book is i think way too abstract to be didactic but the impressionist painting with words of the feeling of copying others and watching them and being slightly out of step is very powerful. it's so fluid as a text and so intriguing for me to read. it's more of an experience than a narrative and i really liked that. bear in mind also though that there are antisemitic/racist tropes or subliminal sentiments at points in the writing, which is somewhat interesting in context of my knowledge of how these tropes have been used literarily, but also it's not very nice to read! keep it in mind and know about them; knowing that things like this often shape our views of the people around us it is important to recognise and deconstruct them.
super interestingly written. it is truly like waves and like nothing I've ever read before. it's entirely in direct speech which does take a little bit of getting used to, but when you ease in it's genuinely like being told a story, being part of the characters' circle as they sit round in a playroom and recount their daily life. it's super interesting in terms of modernism too, compared to orlando, as I can see how woolf is deconstructing ideas of what literature is and plot/character/time throughout her works. i've heard that woolf was considered to be autistic by many people and I think this book is a very autistic one in my opinion; the perception and detail and innovation with which she writes is I think symptomatic of a worldview that is incredibly detail-oriented, in tune with nature and deviating from what is considered typical in literature in many ways. I think also modernism helps with this, as the literary voice diverges from what is considered 'typical'. there are a few passages, particularly by rhoda, which also paint very beautifully the concept of masking. this book is i think way too abstract to be didactic but the impressionist painting with words of the feeling of copying others and watching them and being slightly out of step is very powerful. it's so fluid as a text and so intriguing for me to read. it's more of an experience than a narrative and i really liked that. bear in mind also though that there are antisemitic/racist tropes or subliminal sentiments at points in the writing, which is somewhat interesting in context of my knowledge of how these tropes have been used literarily, but also it's not very nice to read! keep it in mind and know about them; knowing that things like this often shape our views of the people around us it is important to recognise and deconstruct them.
Beautiful prose, enjoyed some passages especially (mostly those concerned with Rhoda, Louis, and the entire ending section), but can’t shake the feeling that Woolf can’t escape her class background.
Note to self: Reread in middle age, or at the death of a friend
Note to self: Reread in middle age, or at the death of a friend
challenging
dark
reflective
I have read other works by Virginia Woolf, and have loved her wonderfully melodic writing. However, this time I just got really bogged down by the multiple characters that I couldn't keep track of and the constantly shifting perspectives. The writing is still beautiful, but by the time I finished, I was really quite weary of it all.
This book is a tour de force. Woolf was experimenting with a technique that let her fully explore characterization as the principle narrative vehicle, and the result is a stunning, tightly woven orchestration that develops our understanding of the life being examined. I often felt like I was reading a story that had been designed like a piece of chamber music.