The Waves, more than any of Virginia Woolf's novels,
conveys the complexities of human experience. Tracing the lives of
a group of friends, The Waves follows their development from
childhood to youth and middle age. While social events, individual
achievements and disappointments form its narrative, the novel is
most remarkable for the rich poetic language that conveys the inner
life of its characters: their aspirations, their triumphs and
regrets, their awareness of unity and isolation. Separately and
together, they query the relationship of past to present, and the
meaning of life itself.
'A book of great beauty and a prose poem of genius.'
Stephen Spender
