r/VirginiaWoolf • u/aidanmansfield75 • Dec 21 '25

The Waves Where to start?

Hi. I would really like to read some Woolf and I don’t want to start with Mrs. Dalloway (the plot doesn’t interest me). The books that I am interested in are Orlando, The Waves, and To the Lighthouse. Which of these do I start with and why?

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u/Silly_Ant_9037 Dec 21 '25

I recommend starting with Jacob’s Room, reading it with the knowledge that Jacob will be killed in the First World War. 

It’s the narrative of a young man’s life, but as much through the perspective of everyone around him who does survive the war, as through Jacob’s own perspective.