The Waves

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Frances Jeater

The Waves traces the lives of six friends from childhood to old age. It was written when Virginia Woolf was at the height of her experimental powers, and she allows each character to tell their own story, through powerful, poetic monologues. By listening to these voices struggling to impose order and meaning on their lives, we are drawn into a literary journey that stunningly reproduces the complex, confusing, and contradictory nature of human experience. It is read with affection and skill by Frances Jeater.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks

The unique writing style

It’s one of the most hardest books i’ve read in a long time due to the writing style! But i love it so much

Exquisite

I have become a Virginia Woolf fan, and this work does not disappoint. If there is a bit of a downer, it’s the way that the weariness of life comes through late in the book. Otherwise, Woolf’s intimate and detailed descriptions of moment by moment reveal the profundity of her perception. Perhaps her premature demise was due to her absolute intensity of being. Maybe it was too much. At any rate, one must be grateful that she left the world what she did. The narrator of this volume, Frances Jeater, is a true artist, and brings Woolf to life in the here and now.

human innermost feelings.

Profoundly sensitive, so much that one can see one's reflection on it. Echoes of a person's common concerns and afflictions. Provocative in a way that it makes us confront life and death in our very existence.

Enthralling

Beautifully read to capture the cadence and imagery of Virginia Woolf’s lyrical and eloquent writing. Magical and transformative. The reader bobs on the surface and dives deeply into the prose and interwoven stories

Just amazing

So intriguing.Every single frase is incredible!!!!!
I couldn’t stop reading.
It took me 3 days.

Excellent to fall asleep to.

Sometimes you simply need that.
At 2am I listened; not thinking, just letting the words wash over me.

Reads like a dream

Consciousness intertwining in "playpoem" ...Wow, what a command Wolfe had of language! So lyrical, I felt as if I was in a trance.

Inferiority

Six internal worlds intersect; no plot necessary. Subjectivity takes priority over world events. Does anyone probe internal life better than Virginia Woolf?

Excellent!

Frances Jeater is a fantastic narrator. I’d never read The Waves (or listened to it) and her voice really amplifies VW’s beautiful stream of consciousness. Highly rec!

Woolf’s Masterpiece!

An extremely intense experience, like a long poem. The beautiful language and imagery weave a story of friends from childhood. You will do best with this book if you can devote your full attention to Woolf’s words. I found myself using the rewind button frequently, sometimes to better understand what was said by the excellent reader, sometimes just to listen again to a particularly beautiful passage. If you have not read or listened to Woolf before, consider starting with an earlier work, like Night and Day. The Waves makes you work a little to appreciate Woolf’s language and imagery, but you will find your efforts rewarded! Give it a listen!