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The Awakening

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The Awakening

By: Kate Chopin
Narrated by: Maria Marquis
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About this listen

Set in New Orleans at the close of the 19th century, The Awakening follows Edna Pontellier, who, while vacationing with her husband and their two sons, finds liberation from her prudish behavior and repressed emotions and desires. At the coastal resort of Madame Lebrun, Edna struggles to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South.

Once a good Kentucky Presbyterian, and a proper wife and mother, Edna's appetite for expression and independence is unleashed when an unspoken passion for a Creole companion takes over and she can no longer comply with convention.

Public Domain (P)2020 Maria Marquis Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Marriage
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This narrator, Maria Marquis, needs more credit than she receives on Audible. I carefully listened to narrators in every sample of The Awakening before settling on this version, and I am so very glad I did. Her accents really bring the book to life and her voice is such a delight on the ears. Thank you, Maria!!!

Now to the book! I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of language in books from over 100 years ago and more, when in the hands of a masterful wordsmith that is! Kate Chopin captures New Orleans and gender issues from yesteryear with poetic precision. I actually fantasised about visiting the cottages and seeing the spaces and smelling the aromas... to inhabit the spaces within this book. That was the level of immersion I was able to achieve.

LOVED IT!!!

Exquisite reading of a classic!!!

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