Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Read: Sept. 23-Oct. 13, 2016
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Publication: December 1992 by Everyman's Library
Genres: Classic, historical fiction

Blurb from Goodreads:

"When first published in 1899, The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the confines of her domestic situation.

Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then-controversial subject, the novel is widely admired today for its literary qualities. Edmund Wilson characterized it as a work "quite uninhibited and beautifully written, which anticipates D. H. Lawrence in its treatment of infidelity." Although the theme of marital infidelity no longer shocks, few novels have plumbed the psychology of a woman involved in an illicit relationship with the perception, artistry, and honesty that Kate Chopin brought to The Awakening."

Review

I....um....hm.

I believe this is the first classic novel I've read (that wasn't written by Shakespeare)...and, frankly, I'm not impressed. But, I'm not exactly surprised, either.

Now, I'm going to review this book like how a typical teenager would, so...bear with me.

This book was...boring. And didn't really catch my interest until somewhere half way through the book. When I got to that point, I started to pay more attention, but, still...this book is NOT on my list of favourites. Not. Even. Close.

If you asked me to pinpoint what made it so boring, I....I'm not sure I could. But here's a vague and somewhat ambiguous response for you: the writing wasn't exiting.

I'm a teenager! I read YA! I'm used to exciting and adventurous stories....told.....excitingly...and adventurously!

What I found in this book....was...actually....a girl realising she deserves better than the guy she has now. Then decides she's found her true love, but, he leaves, and now she's completely devasted.

I wouldn't be surprised if I read a story like this in a YA novel, but....oh, I don't know! I felt the writing style to be extremely drab and dull.

Ah wells.

Not the absolute worst book I've read....but not one of the best, either.

Do you remember the first classic novel you read? 

If so, what was it?