The Waves - by Virginia Woolf (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A beautiful hardcover edition of the most ambitious and visionary novel by the author of To the Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway, with a new introduction by Frances Spalding

Virginia Woolf's lyrical and innovative masterpiece, first published in 1931, interweaves the voices of six characters, beginning in their childhood in a garden by the sea and following them throughout their lives. As the three boys and three girls grow up, they navigate friendships and loves, triumphs and regrets, and they grieve for the death of a seventh character, their beloved friend Percival.

Interspersed throughout the characters' interior monologues are brief scenes of the seaside that progress through a single day, from dawn to sunset, over the course of the novel. Defying classification, THE WAVES boldly breaks down the barriers between poetry and prose, as well as those between the consciousnesses of Woolf's individual characters, producing an entrancing and groundbreaking work of literature that has captivated generations of readers.

Review Quotes

"Mrs. Woolf, so far as the novel is concerned has almost reached the jumping-off place. . . . The texture of the prose is a warp of sensory impressions woven into woof of poetical abstraction. As prose it has very often a high distinction--it is clear, bright, burnished, at once marvelously accurate and subtly connotative. The pure, delicate sensibility found in this language and the moods that it expresses are a true kind of poetry." --The New York Times

"[Virginia Woolf] had the gift of epiphany." --Teju Cole, author of Open City

"I love [Woolf's] strength and fragility in equal measure." --Deborah Levy, author of Hot Milk

About the Author

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was one of the defining writers of the twentieth century. The author of Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, A Room of One's Own, and The Waves, she transformed the modern novel through her groundbreaking explorations of consciousness, memory, and time. Her work continues to inspire readers and writers around the world.

Patti Smith is the author of the National Book Award winner Just Kids, as well as Woolgathering, M Train, Year of the Monkey, Bread of Angels and Collected Lyrics. Her seminal album Horses has been hailed as one of the top 100 albums of all time. Her global exhibitions include Strange Messenger, Land 250, Camera Solo, and Evidence. In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, Smith is also the recipient of the ASCAP Founders Award, Sweden's Polar Music Prize, the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, and the Legion d'honneur.