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The Awakening and Other Stories (Modern Library Classics)
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Manufacturer: Modern Library
Author: Kate Chopin
Publisher: Modern Library
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $7.95
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Author: Kate Chopin
Publisher: Modern Library
Average Customer Rating:
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The Awakening and Other Stories (Modern Library Classics) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN: 9780679783336
ISBN: 0679783334
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2000-11-14
Publisher: Modern Library
Product Release Date: 2000-11-14
Studio: Modern Library
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN: 9780679783336
ISBN: 0679783334
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 448
Publication Date: 2000-11-14
Publisher: Modern Library
Product Release Date: 2000-11-14
Studio: Modern Library
Editorial Review of The Awakening and Other Stories (Modern Library Classics)
The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers with its forthright treatment of sex and suicide. Departing from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine's desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings of middle- and upper-class life are the themes of this now-classic novel. As Kaye Gibbons points out in her Introduction, Chopin "was writing American realism before most Americans could bear to hear that they were living it."
This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes selected stories from Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie.
This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes selected stories from Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie.
Customer Reviews of The Awakening and Other Stories (Modern Library Classics)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beautifully crafted, evocative and poignant short stories
Review: I actually haven't reached the Awakening yet. I find it amazing that nobody has commented on the beauty of Ms. Chopin's short pastoral stories. They remind me of the Guy de Maupassant short stories, Boule de Suif etc.
Ms. Chopin was clearly a very skilled writer of the short story and sympathetically conveys a sense of the times and lives of the Louisiana Creoles. This is the most rewarding reading of American letters that I have had for quite some time. I do wonder how I might perceive the stories without an understanding of French since the occasional patois dialogue might be alienating if not comprehended.
I will make a point of passing this book on to a friend.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Overrated "Classic"
Review: I had been urged to read "The Awakening" several times, and had heard the word "classic" used to describe this book, so I thought I'd check it out. And while I understand that this must have been controversial when it first appeared, this same theme has been done much better by later writers. This is a BORING read. Not much happens. There isn't much conflict. I didn't like or sypathize with the main character, who comes off as selfish and cold. I would not recommend this, except in a study of feminist literature. The other stories are pretty much the same as the title story -- slow and plodding. I'm a fan of literature and theme, but this is light on both. Avoid this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Worth reading (The Awakening)
Review: This book is certainly not for the illiterate dime novel crowd. It is a story of one woman's struggle to find herself within the narrow confines of Victorian society. The situations and characters are well developed and some literacy in French is helpful but not required. If you read a bit about Kate Chopin the main character seems to be fairly autobiographical at least where rebellion from female conformity was concerned. The book is not a new idea, a person finding their wings and learning to fly. But the idea of a female doing this in Victorian society was brand new. The book was considered obscene and subversive at the time and that alone makes it worth reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: a counterpoint to the last review
Review: I got turned on to KC in college through one story--The Storm--and a little background on her (she wrote ahead of her time, was published and then forgotten until the 1960's Feminist Movement dug her up again). She became one of those authors I lodge in the back of my head to investigate later. I happened upon this wonderful book at the book tent at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest and grabbed it. The book gives a great introduction to her and her time. I was lucky enough to read The Awakening and some of her other short stories while staying at Grand Isle. She was and is a great writer. She wrote from a viewpoint that bucked the norms of her time---the late 1800's, she wrote of women who didnt fit the mold of mommy and wife. She wrote eloquently of an area, era, and culture that I love...New Orleans, Cajun Country, and Grand Isle amongst others. I dont write many reviews, but after reading the only other review for this book I felt a different opinion should be heard. She is a good read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Yeah, yeah, A sense of SELF
Review: I read this because It was listed as a "great book". Why, I don't know. Maybe at the time it was risque. Imagine the horror! A wife, not happy with just being a wife! Soon she begins to realize that she is an indvidual who has her own sexual desires, so she trapses around town with men while her husband is away on business. It was a labor to read this, but I always finish. You however- I would not reccomend picking this up.
Review Summary: Beautifully crafted, evocative and poignant short stories
Review: I actually haven't reached the Awakening yet. I find it amazing that nobody has commented on the beauty of Ms. Chopin's short pastoral stories. They remind me of the Guy de Maupassant short stories, Boule de Suif etc.
Ms. Chopin was clearly a very skilled writer of the short story and sympathetically conveys a sense of the times and lives of the Louisiana Creoles. This is the most rewarding reading of American letters that I have had for quite some time. I do wonder how I might perceive the stories without an understanding of French since the occasional patois dialogue might be alienating if not comprehended.
I will make a point of passing this book on to a friend.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Overrated "Classic"
Review: I had been urged to read "The Awakening" several times, and had heard the word "classic" used to describe this book, so I thought I'd check it out. And while I understand that this must have been controversial when it first appeared, this same theme has been done much better by later writers. This is a BORING read. Not much happens. There isn't much conflict. I didn't like or sypathize with the main character, who comes off as selfish and cold. I would not recommend this, except in a study of feminist literature. The other stories are pretty much the same as the title story -- slow and plodding. I'm a fan of literature and theme, but this is light on both. Avoid this book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Worth reading (The Awakening)
Review: This book is certainly not for the illiterate dime novel crowd. It is a story of one woman's struggle to find herself within the narrow confines of Victorian society. The situations and characters are well developed and some literacy in French is helpful but not required. If you read a bit about Kate Chopin the main character seems to be fairly autobiographical at least where rebellion from female conformity was concerned. The book is not a new idea, a person finding their wings and learning to fly. But the idea of a female doing this in Victorian society was brand new. The book was considered obscene and subversive at the time and that alone makes it worth reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: a counterpoint to the last review
Review: I got turned on to KC in college through one story--The Storm--and a little background on her (she wrote ahead of her time, was published and then forgotten until the 1960's Feminist Movement dug her up again). She became one of those authors I lodge in the back of my head to investigate later. I happened upon this wonderful book at the book tent at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest and grabbed it. The book gives a great introduction to her and her time. I was lucky enough to read The Awakening and some of her other short stories while staying at Grand Isle. She was and is a great writer. She wrote from a viewpoint that bucked the norms of her time---the late 1800's, she wrote of women who didnt fit the mold of mommy and wife. She wrote eloquently of an area, era, and culture that I love...New Orleans, Cajun Country, and Grand Isle amongst others. I dont write many reviews, but after reading the only other review for this book I felt a different opinion should be heard. She is a good read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Yeah, yeah, A sense of SELF
Review: I read this because It was listed as a "great book". Why, I don't know. Maybe at the time it was risque. Imagine the horror! A wife, not happy with just being a wife! Soon she begins to realize that she is an indvidual who has her own sexual desires, so she trapses around town with men while her husband is away on business. It was a labor to read this, but I always finish. You however- I would not reccomend picking this up.