Reviews

the form was a bit strange in the beginning but the more i read the more invested i got in edna’s personal journey. i really enjoyed how visual & symbolic it was. it was necessarily subtle due to the time period and i didn’t see the ending coming at all, but looking back it was really the only conclusion. this was both introspective and ambiguous i loved it !

mrspenningalovesbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

Kate Chopin & Mary Shelley are such goddess of the written word! I love this book, and reading it again, appreciated Chopin’s insight into the world of the late 1800’s. An awakening truly becomes a prison when there is no place to spread one’s wings.

“Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusion all one’s life.”

“But I don’t want anything but my own way. That is wanting a good deal, of course, when you have to trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices, of others— but no matter— still, I shouldn’t want to trample upon the little lives.”

“A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her, the light which, showing the way, forbids it.”

ayane's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

circularcubes's review against another edition

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4.0

I'd read two of Kate Chopin's stories before (Story of an Hour and A Pair of Silk Stockings), both of which I absolutely adored. I wanted to read more of her work because I knew her importance as an early feminist writer, and this book did not disappoint. The Awakening, while a little slow to start and somewhat uneven, was absolutely compelling. Thank god I'm not a woman living in that time period, because I would have handled marriage and motherhood even worse than Edna did. I would love to have read this for a class, because it's a great book to discuss with others (and that ending! My lord!)
The short stories, on a whole, didn't work so much for me, but I'm not a big fan of the short story to begin with. Nonetheless, there were a couple of stand outs (the two I'd read before and Desiree's Baby come immediately to mind) and on a whole they painted a colorful world which I haven't read much of before.

fairyfi's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sophiaeck's review against another edition

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4.0

i loved the awakening, reminded me a bit of edith whartons writing. the short stories were just okay, there were a few that i enjoyed but most were a bit repetitive and not too exciting

alexashabit's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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