No writer has influenced my reading and writing more than The Waves . Ever since its publication in 1931, The Waves has bewitched readers and critics alike with the poetic quality of its language and its complete lack of a “conventional” plot structure. To read (and understand) it is to surrender oneself to Woolf and trust her virtuosity to take one on a journey towards startling revelations about selfhood, togetherness, death, and the condition of being human. These are all weighty, abstract issues, but the lack of a structure allows The Waves to examine them all without seeming contrite. The soliloquies of the six friends are at times revealing, exasperating, confounding, and touching - covering the entire canvas of human emotions. The reader establishes an intimate relationship with the characters from the beginning, being ushered by Woolf straight into their minds and reading their most private ruminations. The characters struggle with life and all the obstacles its waves wash u