The Awakening

It really struck me that for a book published in 1899, the story is still so fresh and resonates with emotion that is easily understood by the modern reader (or listener). The author excelled at both capturing elusive internal feelings and descriptions of the Louisiana coast and New Orleans of days gone by. It is a real page-turner, and although I had read it years ago, I couldn't wait to hear the story play out. The narration, however, leaves A LOT to be desired. The narrator affects a truly awful southern drawl when characters are speaking which can be extremely distracting. She also mispronounces most French place names and given names repeatedly as well as numerous english words.
Listen and love it for the story, and try to ignore the bad narration.

I absolutely love Kate Chopin--everything she writes is thought provoking and intense, full of double-voice discourse. Personally, I don't think anyone can understand Edna Pontellier unless she is at least 25 and has been married. The book speaks to me each and every time I read/listen to it--in fact, as I become older, I read and react to the book differently (Bakhtin's chronotope). The Awakening is one of my all-time favorite books.

If you are into traditional romances, like Harlequin, you would likely not like this book.

Shelly Frasier is fantastic. Her laid-back rhythm and cadence really evokes the New Orlean vibe and feeling.

Exquistely narrated by Shelley Frasier, who captures the accents, cadence, and tone of the New Orleans Creoles with near perfection. Her timbre and languid pacing vividly recreates the atmosphere and sense of culture of that unique corner of the South called New Orleans.

The book, itself a classic, is almost painterly in its use of language and is abundantly reviewed elsewhere including an excellent annotated version of Cliff Notes! Suffice it to say this review is about the narration; listening to this version is worth every minute of time spent tethered to your computer, ipod or parked car (I did all three)!

I am personally undergoing "an awakening" in other aspects of life besides dealing with the opposite sex. This book is interesting for both sexes enduring a predicament of choices life presents that may have unpleasant consequences, and possibly impossible to make.

Timeless with interesting ,complex characters. Great narrator with perfect dialect. Having lived in New Orleans, I can appreciate the culture and the genteel refinement. I garantee' you will get the flavor of the location, smell the flowers, and indulge the characters.

Gone with the Wind. The similaity between Scarlet and Edna. Both strong in different ways, but both rebels with a cause, (themselves)..

Her tone, her pace, and especially the accent. I'm glad I chose this narrator. She made it became real.

Will you love her or disapprove of her or did she or didn't she? --- Oh what it means to miss New Orleans as it lingers with you.

Wonderful discriptions, rich vocabulary and sentences. Vivid settings. A Classic. You will think about it and probalby listen to it several times and get different impressions at every read (listen).