Shirley Jackson – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

It seems I can love horror

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

September 9, 2023 by KimMiE" Leave a Comment

CBR15 BINGO: Dwelling. Hill House is not only integral to the story but also a character in itself. Like many American high school students, I read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” in ninth grade and then proceeded to ignore Jackson for the majority of my book-consuming life. First published in The New Yorker in 1948, “The Lottery” was shocking for its twist and has been banned or challenged in school districts for being, among other things, anti-family. Given the influence Jackson had on American literature, I’m […]

The Sundial

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

October 2, 2022 by Classic Leave a Comment

If this had been shorter. I am sure I would have loved it. But it just went on and on and it took me most of last night and this morning to get through. I loved the plot, and even the opening by Victor LaValle. But the whole book just wanders and then eventually we get to what I consider an odd and open-ended ending. At least I had a chance to read this while I had candles burning nearby. “The Sundial” with an introduction […]

Dark Tales, wooo-ooo

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

August 10, 2022 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

This collection of short fiction by Shirley Jackson is not all previously uncollected or unpublished, but if you have a copy of The Lottery and Other Stories, there are no repeats for this one. About a third of these stories are found in the Library of America collection though. The stories here are called Dark Tales, and minus the memoir pieces, all Shirley Jackson stories are dark stories. What sets off most of these stories is the intrusion of darkness into otherwise ordinary lives. Sometimes […]

Jaws Theme dun dun dun dun

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

June 18, 2022 by esmemoria 2 Comments

I have an MFA in short fiction and don’t do a damn thing with it. But I love a good collection of short stories that teach me something about craft. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Other Stories taught me the art of the ominous subtext. Jackson’s stories feature a lot of isolated or lonely people, who decidedly don’t get their happy endings. There is a dread running underneath (and sometimes overrneath…) her stories. Mundane details can say something about the character or the atmosphere. In […]

…perhaps, vehicle for every kind of fear, she contained enough for all.

The Hauting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

May 19, 2022 by Leedock Leave a Comment

Here is where I admit to relegating Shirley Jackson to a middle school English reading requirement. I have hazy memories of reading The Lottery and thinking it was super creepy but not much more than that. I know, I know. Just wanted to start with a little honesty here. The only reason that I FINALLY grabbed a Jackson book from the library was that I fell completely in love with The Haunting of Hill House adaptation on Netflix. Not to make this a tv review, […]

Shirley Jackson Stuff – Shirley Jackson

Letters of Shirley Jackson by Shirley Jackson

The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

December 28, 2021 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Letters of Shirley Jackson – 5/5 Stars A few years ago I read the Collected Letters of Ralph Ellison. One of the very many exciting things about this collection was my learning that he was close friends with Stanley Edgar Hymen and by extention Shirley Jackson. This leads to some various exchanges in that collection that show just how generous of spirit Ralph Ellison often was (and how petty he could sometimes go). This collection has the same set of joys as that colleciton but […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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