Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House

Hi

The Haunting of Hill House is my third Shirley Jackson novel. You can find my reviews on the other two here.
This book has 246 pages and I got it from Book Depository.

 “Hill House stood abandoned, six miles off the road. Four people came to learn its secrets - Dr Montague, an occult scholar; Luke, a spendthrift heir; Theodora, escaping a love affair; and Eleanor, who is lonely and vulnerable - to the house.”

This is a rather strange novel. 

It’s definitely not scary or suspenseful but it is unsettling.

The story is told from Eleanor’s point of view and as the story progresses we start to doubt her sanity. The lines between what’s real and what isn’t start to blur. We can’t be sure if what’s she’s hearing is only there in her head or if everyone can hear it. I liked that element a lot. The doubt creeps up on you and it takes a while before you realize that you can’t really trust what she’s experiencing.

The story unfolds subtly and Jackson manages to build an eerie, suffocating atmosphere throughout the novel. It is well-written and she shows great skill in characterization and descriptions. I love her writing-style.

I enjoyed it a lot but I felt a bit dissatisfied with the lack of suspense.

4 STARS

Happy reading.
Helena

Shirley Jackson: Hangsaman

Hi

Hangsaman is my second Shirley Jackson novel (I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle a few months ago).
It has 218 pages and a 5-page Foreword by Francine Prose.
I got it from The Book Depository.

“Seventeen-year-old Natalie Waite longs to escape home for college. Her father is a domineering and egotistical writer who keeps a tight rein on Natalie and her long-suffering mother. When Natalie finally does get away, however, college life doesn’t bring the happiness she expected. Little by little, Natalie is no longer certain of anything—even where reality ends and her dark imaginings begin. Chilling and suspenseful, Hangsaman is loosely based on the real-life disappearance of a Bennington College sophomore in 1946.”

I enjoyed this novel enormously.
It’s very different and unique. The prose is absolutely beautiful, elegant and it makes for a truly believable story. The atmosphere created is dark, claustrophobic and haunting but not throughout.

The story is about the aftermath of trauma; what can happen after someone or something changed you and your life. What happened is never explicitly stated nor dwelt upon but it influences every sentence after.
It’s also about finding your place in the world, your part in it and figuring out who you are.

Hangsaman is definitely recommended!

Happy reading.
Helena

Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Hi

This one has been on my shelf for about 2 years so it’s time to read it. Especially as it’s only 146 pages and it has a 12-page afterword by Joyce Carol Oates.

“Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.”

I enjoyed this novel a lot. Like, a lot, a lot.
It’s weird and strange, but so, so good. Completely different from anything I’ve read before.
Great setting, amazing prose, very interesting characters who are very well painted.

The novel is very atmospheric. From the very start the tone is set. Once you’re in the novel there’s this chilling, ominous feeling creeping up throughout the novel. It’s engrossing, absorbing.
Especially once that hateful bastard Charles arrives. Man, how I hate him.
And still, you never know where the story is going. The ‘big mystery’ is rather easy to figure out, but the course of the story stays unclear for a long time. We know so little.

Their lives are going nowhere but they are happy the way they live. Incredible.

It’s almost a fairytale. Not with the happy end and the witch or evil stepmother etcetera, but the way the novel feels like it’s like reading a fairytale. Time stood still and it does again at the end.

Happy reading.

Helena