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nikitaaaart's reviews
48 reviews
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Waves by Virginia Woolf // Fiction, Experimental
Virginia Woolf has a very picturesque and detailed writing style, using a stream of consciousness technique.
The book is about the journey of 6 friends - Bernard, Louis, Neville, Susan, Jinny & Rhoda - from their childhood to old age. The journey, you may ask, is inclined towards their psychological and philosophical changes that occur in the characters' lifespan.
What's unique about this is that there's no actual plot or even spoken dialogue between characters. Rather, they are in the form of internal dialogues reflecting each character's perspective, fears and anxieties, and experiences - their deepest thoughts in the given life scenario. However, conversation between the characters exists only within the subtext.
It took me the first 5-8 pages to figure out the structure. It takes a while to understand and get into the novel completely. Preferably around >20 pages, it gets interesting and the pace increases.
I feel this novel is mine. It's relatable. It's personal. You attach yourself to certain characters or even get pissed by the personalities of some.
The Waves is a culmination of different personalities trying to find their identity, to belong somewhere, and Woolf provides us with the opportunity to really get into each character's shoes. It represents continuity of life & connectivity to each other.
(This is widely known as one of the hardest reads with a slow paced flow of the book since it's entirely based on character development.)
π Music to listen to:
Ludovico Einaudi composed an album inspired by this novel, 'Le Onde' which means The Waves in Italian. (Read the CD description on Wikipedia of the album page after finishing the book)
Virginia Woolf has a very picturesque and detailed writing style, using a stream of consciousness technique.
The book is about the journey of 6 friends - Bernard, Louis, Neville, Susan, Jinny & Rhoda - from their childhood to old age. The journey, you may ask, is inclined towards their psychological and philosophical changes that occur in the characters' lifespan.
What's unique about this is that there's no actual plot or even spoken dialogue between characters. Rather, they are in the form of internal dialogues reflecting each character's perspective, fears and anxieties, and experiences - their deepest thoughts in the given life scenario. However, conversation between the characters exists only within the subtext.
It took me the first 5-8 pages to figure out the structure. It takes a while to understand and get into the novel completely. Preferably around >20 pages, it gets interesting and the pace increases.
I feel this novel is mine. It's relatable. It's personal. You attach yourself to certain characters or even get pissed by the personalities of some.
The Waves is a culmination of different personalities trying to find their identity, to belong somewhere, and Woolf provides us with the opportunity to really get into each character's shoes. It represents continuity of life & connectivity to each other.
(This is widely known as one of the hardest reads with a slow paced flow of the book since it's entirely based on character development.)
π Music to listen to:
Ludovico Einaudi composed an album inspired by this novel, 'Le Onde' which means The Waves in Italian. (Read the CD description on Wikipedia of the album page after finishing the book)
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The White Book by Han Kang
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Timecode of a Face by Ruth Ozeki
Finally, the book was a mirror of my own.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The book starts with the author trying out an experiment of looking at herself in the mirror for 3 hours. What I love about the book is how her insecurities, fears, and contemplations are timestamped. She talks about her facial features and delves into her experiences of racism as a Japanese - American, her childhood, figuring out her identity, Japanese culture, Buddhist philosophies and the role beauty plays in the life of a 59 year old woman.
This is by far one of my favourite non fiction readings. I love the structure and the writing. The reading is easy and often reflective. I could almost hear the things she wrote.
I ended up annotating so many lines and even paragraphs. I could relate to so many aspects of her writings on physical appearances and the obsession we have of being "beautiful". I was able to explore these themes within myself β
This is by far one of my favourite non fiction readings. I love the structure and the writing. The reading is easy and often reflective. I could almost hear the things she wrote.
I ended up annotating so many lines and even paragraphs. I could relate to so many aspects of her writings on physical appearances and the obsession we have of being "beautiful". I was able to explore these themes within myself β
βThis is why we read novels, after all, to see our reflections transformed, to enter another's subjectivity, to wear another's face, to live inside another's skin.β
Finally, the book was a mirror of my own.