Hello Everyone!

Reading is a favorite pastime of many. The ultimate escape, to many different countries, cultures, time periods and even worlds, depending on your preferred genre. As great as reading is, when done it for fun, it is not so fun when it’s enforced reading, especially depending on the requirement (i.e school).

It is easy to go into a bookstore or various reading apps and sites like Kindle, to pick out a good book to read, but when your teacher/instructor sets materials to be read, you tend to cringe, shy away or run screaming into night, all the while cursing said teacher/instructor. You just know it’s going to be some old, boring, hard to read story that will numb your brain and cross your eyes. Your pain is understood. But in the midst of all of those dusty paperweights, there may be some hidden gems. One such gem is Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour.

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The Story of an Hour is a classic short story that tells of a woman who is informed of her husband’s death and the stages of grief she experiences as she tries to come to terms with life without her husband. Louise Mallard is told of Brentley’s, her husband, death by her sister Josephine and Brentley’s friend Richards. They are worried because of her weak heart.

Since this is a short story, there is little to no character development, also very little plot action, but plot and theme are relevant to the time and setting of the story, when women were still subservient to men and forced to conform to societal standards. That aspect is what makes the story so interesting, and it being short, gives it even more of an impact at the climax of tension and story’s end.

So, if you feel the need to flex your literature muscles, or just to have something to discuss at a party to make yourself feel intelligent and well read, this is a fun little gem to read, analyze and maybe recommend and discuss with your book club, with a little twist at the end to really add to a conversational piece. Grab yourself a copy at your local library, download it to your e-reader or listen to it on audio and have a good time. Until later!

Happy Reading!

The Book Diva