The Waves by Virginia Woolf
The Waves is not a long novel, but it took me a long time to plow through it. One could say it gives the story of six characters as they enter school, leave school, and pursue their lives. But leaving the description there would be misleading. In fact, there is no "story" and no narration. Instead there is a series of loosely connected first-person monologues in which the six characters reflect on events and feelings. Gradually the reader gets a sense of the distinct personalities, and discerns something of the relations between them, although nothing is spelled out clearly.
Many people consider The Waves beautiful, poetic, and Virginia Woolf's masterpiece. Others, like me, find it tiresome and obscure. I suppose it all depends on one's predilections: if you like stories presented in a clear, orderly fashion, with the relations of characters and events unambiguously set forth, you will not like this book. If, on the other hand, you enjoy prose that leaves most of the "story" in the dark while exploring detours, that leads sometimes to dead ends, and illustrates all with surprising (sometimes beautiful) comparisons and images, then you will like this book, but you should read it slowly.
Many people consider The Waves beautiful, poetic, and Virginia Woolf's masterpiece. Others, like me, find it tiresome and obscure. I suppose it all depends on one's predilections: if you like stories presented in a clear, orderly fashion, with the relations of characters and events unambiguously set forth, you will not like this book. If, on the other hand, you enjoy prose that leaves most of the "story" in the dark while exploring detours, that leads sometimes to dead ends, and illustrates all with surprising (sometimes beautiful) comparisons and images, then you will like this book, but you should read it slowly.