Banned Book Club "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

117 S. Pineapple Ave.,Sarasota FL 34236

23 May, 2023

Description

In this monthly book club dedicated to reading and protecting the most important and threatened books for our generation, May's pick The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the daring story of a woman's search for personal freedom that was so controversial in 1899 that it ended its author's career.We will meet in person at our store at The Mark, 117 S. Pineapple Ave. The book club is $10 which includes a copy of The Awakening to be picked up at Bookstore1 any time before our meeting.About The Awakening: With an effortless, sure-handed artistry, Kate Chopin tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young mother and model wife, whose romantic involvement with a young man during a vacation at a seaside resort allows her for the first time to imagine a freer life. Upon her return to New Orleans, Edna leaves her husband's home for her own cottage, pursues her artistic ambitions, and begins an affair, only to discover that the constraints of social custom are more powerful than she had thought. Contemporary readers were shocked by the frank, unapologetic treatment of adultery in The Awakening, but over the ensuing century the novel went on to achieve the status of a classic for its visionary prescience and narrative brilliance. About the Author:Kate Chopin (1851-1904) brought out her first novel, At Fault, at her own expense in 1890. It was followed by two well-reviewed collections of her short stories: Bayou Folk in 1894 and A Night in Acadie in 1897. The Awakening appeared in 1899 to an explosion of disapproving reviews and the cancellation of her next book contract. However, within a decade of her early death at the age of fifty-four, her literary genius began to be widely recognized. About Book Bans: Book bans in public schools have recurred throughout American history, and remain an issue of concern to us at Bookstore1Sarasota. Over the past year, the scope of such censorship has expanded rapidly. In response, PEN America has collated an Index of School Book Bans, offering a snapshot of the trend. The index documents decisions to ban books in school libraries and classrooms in the U.S. from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Check it out and join us in our efforts to protect free expression and students' first amendment rights. You can view the index here. .......................................................................... All signed up and unable to go? Please let us know! Seating is limited and there may be people on our waitlist who would like to to take your place. Please send an email to [email protected] ASAP and hopefully we'll see you next time. Click here to go to the Bookstore1Sarasota website.