This is an especially appropriate book to read as we stand poised on
the edge of a new millennium. An odd assortment of kin and hangers-on
gather in a gothic mansion as, initially drawn by the lure of the family
fortune, they get drawn into a sort of group apocalyptic psychosis.
They end up burning an extensive library of books to make room for the
food and supplies they are stocking up on and spend time their time planning
out future mating arrangements, to guarantee the continuance of the race,
and writing their own differing accounts of what is happening.
This may not be one of Jackson's greatest works (see reviews of The
Lottery and We Have Always Lived in the Castle), but as always, the
story can be read either straight, for its entertainment value, or as a
palimpsest, with hidden meanings lurking just below the surface.
It could be a comment on religion or on 1950's nuclear hysteria or on any
number of things; Jackson simply provides a creepy tale, delivered with
wit and style, and it's up to readers to draw their own conclusions.
(Reviewed:17-Dec-99)
Grade: (B-)
Websites:
See also:
Shirley Jackson (
3 books reviewed)
Horror
Book-related and General Links:
-BIO:
(Brighton HS, Rochester, NY)
-BIO:
Life and Work
-The
Shirley Jackson Page (American Women Writers)
-The
Haunted World of Shirley Jackson (Donna Dedman)
-Shirley
Jackson (Most Web)
-ETEXT:
The Lottery Shirley Jackson (1948)
-ESSAY:
A Reading of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" (Peter Kosenko)
-ESSAY:
the haunted hearth (margaret quamme, George Jr.)
-SHORT
STORY: What a Thought by Shirley Jackson (Book Wire)
-Monstrous
Acts & Little Murders: A new collection of unpublished stories
betrays the two faces of Shirley Jackson, the writer who created "The Lottery."
(JONATHAN LETHEM, Salon)
-ESSAY:
Dark Thoughts Shirley Jackson (Paula Guran, Dark Echo)
-The
Irrepressible Individual in the Works of Shirley Jackson (Eran Mukamel)
-REVIEW:
Private Demons The Life of Shirley Jackson By Judy Oppenheimer (CHRISTOPHER
LEHMANN-HAUPT, NY Times)
-REVIEW:
PRIVATE DEMONS The Life of Shirley Jackson By Judy Oppenheimer (Elizabeth
Frank, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW:
Just An Ordinary Day By Shirley Jackson. Edited by Laurence Jackson
Hyman and Sarah Hyman Stewart (Joyce Carol Oates, NY Times Book Review)
-ESSAY:
THE HAUNTING OF SHIRLEY JACKSON (Judy Oppenheimer, NY Times Book
Review)
-ESSAY:
Term Paper: Shirley Jackson Life and Work
Comments:
Orrin welcomes reader comments on his reviews.
Add yours here.
