{
  "id": 6260979,
  "title": "Brian Dillon on What Virginia Woolf’s The Waves Means to Him",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/brian-dillon-on-what-virginia-woolfs-the-waves-means-to-him",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-08T09:10:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Literary Hub",
    "slug": "literary-hub",
    "url": "https://lithub.com/brian-dillon-on-what-virginia-woolfs-the-waves-means-to-him/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Brian Dillon expresses that Virginia Woolf's The Waves is the most important novel in his life; however, at twenty years old, he did not use the term for any book, finding it pompous and conventional. The novel captivated him for years, leaving an indelible mark on his imagination. Woolf first conceived the idea for The Waves in 1928 while finishing To the Lighthouse, when she saw a fin in the distance while gazing at the marshes near Rodmell, Sussex. The novel came to life when Woolf pondered the idea of telling an entire life story in a single moment, with time completely obliterated. The protagonist's sole incident, perhaps the fall of a flower, would encapsulate everything.",
  "summary": "In time he will say that The Waves by Virginia Woolf has been the most important novel in his life; but at twenty he does not use the word of this or any book, and would think it pompous, embarrassing,",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}