Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
Third Person (Omniscient)
Defining the narrative perspective for The Waves is kind of tricky. Technically there is a third-person omniscient narrator that interweaves the thoughts of the six different narrators, but aside from the introductions to each chapter that narrator is almost entirely absent; her/his only role is to identify who is "speaking" at any given point. Check out how we are introduced to each of the characters:
"I see a ring," said Bernard, "hanging above me. It quivers and hangs in a loop of light."
"I see a slab of pale yellow," said Susan, "spreading away until it meets a purple stripe."
"I hear a sound," said Rhoda, "cheep, chirp; cheep chirp; going up and down."
"I see a globe," said Neville, "hanging down in a drop against the enormous flanks of some hill."
"I see a crimson tassel," said Jinny, "twisted with gold threads."
"I hear something stamping," said Louis. "A great beast's foot is chained. It stamps, and stamps, and stamps." (1b.1-6)
And that's pretty much how the rest of the novel progresses, with each character taking her/his turn, one after the other, for nine chapters (with only brief interruptions for chapter intros, which give the omniscient voice some air time). So, third-person (omniscient) is probably the best description we can come up with for this description-defying experimental novel.