Of the three novels I've read by Virginia Woolf ("The Years," "Jacob's Room" and "The Waves") this is the one I liked best. Perhaps because it has a more traditional narrative structure than the other two or because the overall theme was more obvious, I didn't feel as though I was missing some great point as I did with the other two.

"The Years" is very much about the passage of time, shown through some vignettes looking into the experiences of the Pargiter family (and their near relations.) The novel stretches from the 1880's to the 1930's, as the family ages, looks back and tries to make sense of their lives.

The characters are really interesting and the relationships between them often complex (and often only hinted at) which makes this book a fun and entertaining read. ( )

First Virginia's book I've read. Liked it.... but nothing like the others. She was a phenomenon, a very unique happening in 2000 years of literature.

Nothing extraordinary in this book - still the first book I ever read containing mostly women characters !

Time. All her books are about time going by... past and present happening apparently in the same time (the action time); many writers at the beginning of the XXth century brought new, different visions on time (Proust, Mann, Joyce) in the modern literature, trying to align it with the latest scientific discoveries (Bergson) - but VW used her very particular technique to express her vision on time & life.
All the (strong) characters are actually allowed to introduce themselves - through their deep thinking and sometimes even acts; great art of imagining every single person's thoughts.... and keeping it believable.

VW's writer's journal says it all about her masterpieces; worth reading before any of her novels.
A lot to discover about her among Aldous Huxley's pages (one of her best friends). ( )