I mentioned on MoonRat's post that I had finished my first book on the list, Kate Chopin's The Awakening. My nutshell review: I like the whole find-yourself-and-live-your-own-life thing, but I found the heroine inconsiderate and self-absorbed. Three of five stars.
If you want to see the full review, check out Corrodentia Weekly or GoodReads.
She's not super likable, it's true, but I love the book anyway. (So does the rally monkey--he loves it and finds it both empowering and sad.)
ReplyDeleteI don't feel Edna's unlikeable. I connected to her strongly the first time I read this book. She's depressed, she feels cornered, and she's desparate. I can see why others wouldn't like her, though. It's still one of my all-time favorites.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I actually really enjoyed reading your comments on my blog. It's nice to get a different perspective. I really like my book club for that reason - I can go into a book club meeting feeling one way about a book and walk out feeling a little differently because people see and understand sides of the story that don't make sense to me initially.
ReplyDeleteJen, I feel the exact same way! It's especially good to have a book club, I think, when you didn't like or understand the book much.
ReplyDeleteI never thought Edna was unlikeable, either. She feels trapped by the one role her society has laid out as acceptable for women (i.e. becoming a mother-woman), and she does her best to escape from that and live on her own terms. And for the most part she actually succeeds in breaking those chains . . . well, all except one, which leads to the novella's ending.
ReplyDeleteThis 100 novel project intrigues me. I think I might just join up.