Desiree's Baby [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Kate Chopin (Author), Jacqueline Kinlow (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994 | ISBN-10: 1883049334 | ISBN-13: 978-1883049331 | Edition: Unabridged

A collection of eight of Chopin's best stories of Louisiana, including Desiree's Baby, which is concerned with slavery and racism, and the intriguing story, The Godmother, of a murder and an older woman's attempt to protect the son of the man she had loved. Unabridged

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

With contemporary authors such as Robert Antoni, Margaret Cezair-Thompson, and Patricia Powell exploring the rich vein of Caribbean dialects, these stories, which sparkle with Cajun and Creole patois, seem as if they could have been written yesterday. Actually, most of them are a century old. Chopin, revered as an early feminist for her novel The Awakening (1899), is not a major writer, and these bittersweet sketches about the joys and disillusionments of love in Louisiana are fairly slight. They do, however, support the contention that her voice is an interesting one, and the title story, the most effective in the collection, is a searing-and ironic-indictment of racial prejudice. The program is especially entertaining due to narrator Jacqueline Kinlow, who shifts from Southern elegance to a gritty French Creole without missing a beat, avoiding the vocal exaggeration that might have ensnared a lesser talent. Sound Room should be commended for adding these neglected works to its international library of short fiction. Recommended.
Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Commuters Library; Unabridged edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883049334
• ISBN-13: 978-1883049331
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,301,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This ironic tale is superb!, April 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Desiree's Baby (Commuter's Library Series) (Audio Cassette)

In this poignant story the main character, Armand Aubigny, assumes that it is his wife's (Desiree) fault that their young son has Negroid features. He assumes this because when he first met and fell in love with her, she had no real knowledge about who her parents were and where she came from. Feeling shame and disillusion about his marriage, Armand forces his wife and son away from his home and life forever. But by the end of the story, he stumbles upon a family secret which makes him, not Desiree, directly responsible for the Negroid features of his son. He discovers that his own mother, " . . . belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery." This bit of irony in the end is cleverly done and establishes Kate Chopin's final point - that the only difference that exist between white and black, is in the imagination of a society that exclusively decides its own racial purity!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memorable, March 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desiree's Baby (Commuter's Library Series) (Audio Cassette)

I read this book seventeen years ago when I was at school in England, being taught 'Literature' by a Texan. At the time I thought it a poignant story, and as years have passed the story of Desiree and Armand have lived with me. I couldn't remember the author, or even the title of the story, but was determined to search it out. Thanks to this website, I have managed just that. I would not hesitate in recommending this sad, strange story to all, but warn you that it is a truly unforgettable piece of literature.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memorable, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desiree's Baby (Commuter's Library Series) (Audio Cassette)

I first read this at school in England where I was taught Literature by a Texan. Although I appreciated the clever delivery and beautiful poignancy of this story, I did not realise that it would live in memory. Knowing only the character's names, I have looked for this book for 19 years. Thanks to your website, I have finally found it.

This is a magnificent tale which I would recommend wholeheartedly.