• The Awakening

  • By: Kate Chopin
  • Narrated by: Susie Berneis
  • Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (337 ratings)

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The Awakening  By  cover art

The Awakening

By: Kate Chopin
Narrated by: Susie Berneis
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Publisher's summary

Unsatisfied with the expectations of Creole society and unhappy with her family life, Edna Pontellier begins to fall in love with the dapper Robert Lebrun. Lebrun's flirtations, along with the lifestyle of renowned musician Mademoiselle Reisz, rejuvenates Edna's sense of freedom and independence. However, an affair with the womanizer Alcee Arobin provides Edna with a taste of the danger that comes with living outside of social convention.

Trapped between the life she is expected to live and the life she longs to lead, will Edna find happiness?

Public Domain (P)2015 Dreamscape Media, LLC

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What listeners say about The Awakening

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, great reading.

Chopin is classic literature. Her messages still ring true, and this book is a fantastic addition to the canon. I read a short story of hers, "Story of an Hour," but this novel does a much more thorough job exploring those themes. It's also an easy read.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Recording could be more animated.

The voice seemed a little lifeless sometimes. Nothing too bad. Overall, the book and listening was splendid.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Well Performed

I found it difficult to connect myself to Edna. Perhaps I am too naive. I was very impressed with the reader.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Every woman who stays should read this...

I l9ved this BOOK! It reflects all the dreams and limits of the Women Who Stay when perhaps...they should go...

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a scandal at its finest

good quality reading. an interesting story. got through it in a day. don't recommend to smaller children.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good

it was a good book I had to listen to it for English class, the sound quality is fine

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

white people are so boring

so sad this is such a self said feminist writing for it was so boring. the romantic descriptions were amazing but the time and setting of when it was written really overshadowed everything. the silence and normalcy slavery was written about was so terrible and is honestly the most important part of the whole text.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Liked the story- would love to see it redone

I really appreciated the storyline and the language of this book. I think it could be an excellent movie and maybe even a better read if it were redone with a little more incitement.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Plot… mehh; the value and its message, thumbs up

Honestly, I think Edna just went too far in general; Too far with the awakening, too far with the affair with Robert, and too far into the ocean. Robert only wanted a cup of coffee, but Edna offered a meal. But I think this book is quite good regardless of some of the distasteful actions made by Edna. The book itself is a great contributor and has great value to the American literature canon, shaping some of the earliest gender equality ideologies.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Touching and heartfelr

A heartfelt and realistic story that follows Edna when she traverses her marriage and society's demands during a time when she feels more and more restless. The performance of this was excellent and really touched the wide range of emotions that Edna feels. Definitely worth listening to.

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