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Title: The Awakening

Author: Kate Chopin

Narrator: Kim Basinger

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-19-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 313 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Kate Chopins novel, a landmark work of early feminism, is seen as a pre-cursor to the works of American novelists such as William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. The upper-class Creole society of New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the 19th century is brought to audio in a stirring performance by Academy Award-winning actress Kim Basinger.

Edna Pontellier, vacationing for the summer with her family on Grand Isle, has a great desire to find and live fully within her true self. However, her struggle to reconcile her unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South brings the story to a tragic conclusion. The Awakenings blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity is the first in a tradition that would culminate in the modern masterpieces of Flannery OConnor, Eudora Welty, and Tennessee Williams.

Editorial Reviews:

Matriarch of fine literature Kate Chopin unfailingly delivers psychologically complex characters and stunningly visceral environments. Set in an upper-crust section of Louisiana towards the end of the 19th Century, The Awakening is meant to be performed. Award-winning actress Kim Basinger employs a crystalline tone when narrating this insightful and irony-rich work of fiction. Her voice is nimble enough to allow for dead-on mimicry of characters ranging from parrot to Frenchmen. Protagonist Edna Pontellier struggles to overcome feminine stereotype in a society that is determined to thwart her freedom. Rebelling against her cruel husband, Edna dallies with a young man of rakish character. Basingers taut voice enables listeners to hover with Edna between want and denial. Basingers cerebral yet poignant performance illuminates this profound novel.

Members Reviews:

Like Seeing a Movie with Your Eyes Closed

Would you consider the audio edition of The Awakening to be better than the print version?

The tension in the story along with the description make this a book that is best as an audiobook.

Have you listened to any of Kim Basingers other performances before? How does this one compare?

Her performance in The Awakening proves that Basinger can bring that taught tension we have come to recognise in her movie performances to audio books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I couldn't wait to have the time to complete this book. It felt like Basinger was in the room telling me the story, and it was a rare treat to be able to picture her as the narrator of the story.

Any additional comments?

Published in 1899, The Awakening is a much over-looked novel by Kate Chopin, panned in her life time an dubbed "vulgar" undoubtedly because it was a novel ahead of its time. The story of a married woman opening up to life in spite of her husband's neglect and verbal abuse, The Awakening explores the murky space between loyalty and infidelity as the protagonist enjoys the company of a flirty, questionable young man who makes a habit of sweeping married women off their feet. Kim Basinger delivers a riveting performance, interpreting each character's voice with careful consideration. She captures the sultry mood of this rare story that juxtaposes snippets of beautiful description with mouth-clenching tension. Basinger captures the author's sympathy with Edna Pellier and the playfulness of Robert, who speaks in French.