Helpful Score: 2
This was an interesting book of short stories by Shirley Jackson. You might have read The Lottery in high school English (I remember having to study that story). If you haven't read it- spoiler alret- stop reading. It is the story of this village that holds a lottery. The twist is the "winner" of the lottery gets stoned to death by the other villagers. It is really disturbing.
This book reminded me of other weird "classics" like The Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye. The little stories are like car wrecks...you just can't look away and after it is over you are kind of like what the heck?
One story tells about a little boy who starts kindergarten and everyday when his parents ask him about school, he tells them stories about a terribly misbehaved boy in his class named "Charles". When the mother goes to the Parent-Teacher conference she asks about Charles. Turns out there is no "Charles" in the class.
Another story tells about about a woman who befriends a new neighbor that moves in the cottage down the street. She suddenly stops being friends with her when she hires a black man to tend her garden.
Then there is a story about a boy on a train who is told an awful story by a man about how the man killed his wife.
I think there are 24 stories in all in the book and they are each a few pages long, so they were good to read a couple before bed each night.
They were all somewhat disturbing, but in a good way? if that's possible? The kind of stories that stick with you and make you think.
This book reminded me of other weird "classics" like The Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye. The little stories are like car wrecks...you just can't look away and after it is over you are kind of like what the heck?
One story tells about a little boy who starts kindergarten and everyday when his parents ask him about school, he tells them stories about a terribly misbehaved boy in his class named "Charles". When the mother goes to the Parent-Teacher conference she asks about Charles. Turns out there is no "Charles" in the class.
Another story tells about about a woman who befriends a new neighbor that moves in the cottage down the street. She suddenly stops being friends with her when she hires a black man to tend her garden.
Then there is a story about a boy on a train who is told an awful story by a man about how the man killed his wife.
I think there are 24 stories in all in the book and they are each a few pages long, so they were good to read a couple before bed each night.
They were all somewhat disturbing, but in a good way? if that's possible? The kind of stories that stick with you and make you think.
Helpful Score: 1
Not only does "The Lottery" stand alone as one of the greatest American short stories, but the other stories in this book also stand on a level all of their own. Shirley Jackson had the amazing gift of being able to blend all aspects of horror in the most subtle ways, that leaves you afraid in the daylight.
Be sure to read "Deamon Lover."
Be sure to read "Deamon Lover."
I remember reading The Lottery in a high school English class back in the 1960s. This chilling story about a stoning in a rural village stuck with me all these years and is pretty much as I remembered. I don't think I have read any of Jackson's other short stories but I have read and really enjoyed most of her novels including The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
This story collection includes 24 other stories which are pretty much derived from everyday experiences. The locales of the stories range from New York City apartment dwellers to what could be peaceful life in the countryside. The stories tend to show the frustrations of everyday life mainly of women who are frustrated with their life or with their neighbors or children. These stories were published originally in 1949 and the prejudices of the time are also present especially in AFTER YOU, MY DEAR ALPHONSE and FLOWER GARDEN. There are also instances of mental illness like in THE TOOTH where a woman travels by bus to New York City for a tooth extraction and ends up not knowing or recognizing herself. (Another reason to fear the dentist!). One sign of the times that I noticed throughout the stories was the prevalence of smoking. Nearly every story had a reference to it.
I did enjoy most of these stories with Jackson's unique perspective on life. Some of them seemed to end rather abruptly without a resolution but I know that's often the case with short stories. I'll be looking forward to reading more Jackson - I have a copy of her nonfiction memoir about raising her family, Raising Demons, that I hope to get to soon.
This story collection includes 24 other stories which are pretty much derived from everyday experiences. The locales of the stories range from New York City apartment dwellers to what could be peaceful life in the countryside. The stories tend to show the frustrations of everyday life mainly of women who are frustrated with their life or with their neighbors or children. These stories were published originally in 1949 and the prejudices of the time are also present especially in AFTER YOU, MY DEAR ALPHONSE and FLOWER GARDEN. There are also instances of mental illness like in THE TOOTH where a woman travels by bus to New York City for a tooth extraction and ends up not knowing or recognizing herself. (Another reason to fear the dentist!). One sign of the times that I noticed throughout the stories was the prevalence of smoking. Nearly every story had a reference to it.
I did enjoy most of these stories with Jackson's unique perspective on life. Some of them seemed to end rather abruptly without a resolution but I know that's often the case with short stories. I'll be looking forward to reading more Jackson - I have a copy of her nonfiction memoir about raising her family, Raising Demons, that I hope to get to soon.
One of the great "scary", gothic writers of all time. Who will ever forget The Haunting of Hill House! Love this author. This is a collection of her classic short stories.
