The Awakening by Kate Chopin

 The biggest news is that this has an introduction from Carmen Maria Machado, and after reading this you can actually skip the rest of the book. You know on the very first page what is going to happen.

I'm not into thrillers where you don't want the secret to be out until you reach the last chapter. I always appreciate introductions because it gives you a perspective on what you're going to get into. You can have a same or different impression after completing the book but introduction is good to have. But not the one written like this one.

I read the introduction, and lost the urge to read the rest of the book. But I still pushed, and unfortunately I started looking at the whole narrative in the light of how it was going to end. And another thing where I think the whole introduction falls flat is to connect it with feminism but I look at it from a point of unfulfilled desires, and maybe some psychological issues which applies to a character irrespective of the gender.

So much for the introduction!

For the book, it is a dark read but worth reading for the style Kate Chopin was able to portray the mindset of a lonely woman who needed a companionship but felt rejected from everyone she had the expectations from. Edna is no Anna but she is a strong character in her own narrative.

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