Reviews

Erm... so I did not like these at all. I find short stories quite difficult anyway; they're always feel so rushed, always have unsatisfactory endings, there's never any character or plot development, and I can't invest myself in anything because it only lasts for like 15 pages. I felt all these with the three stories inside this collection: 'The Missing Girl', 'Journey with a Lady', and 'Nightmare'.

Out of all them all, 'The Missing Girl' was the most interesting. I liked the American camp setting, as it added to this eeriness. The disappearance of the girl was quite intriguing, and I wanted to know what happened to her. Because of this, the ending was unsatisfying. There was no explanation, and it just jumped ahead a year which startled me. I was quite confused.

'Journey with a Lady' was pretty average; nothing monumental happened, thus meaning nothing interesting for me to say on it. 'Nightmare' was, by far, the worst of them all. It felt so weird, and I was constantly confused. I still don't know what happened in that story - what was this Miss X? Why was it our protagonist? What does Miss X mean? What is going to happen to our protagonist? So many questions left unanswered. I quickly grew bored of this story; the repetitive line of 'FIND MISS X. YOU WILL WIN BLAH BLAH BLAH IF YOU FIND HER' started to really irritate me.

Not a good one, unfortunately!

mrears0_0's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

unnerving but preferred her novels

hanwithabook's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

annescorner's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I think, Shirley Jackson unfortunately isn’t for me. I didn’t click with either of the three short stories. I was actually quite confused, did not understand the ‘twists’ at all and honestly found them quite boring. They might’ve been quite daring for their time, but I was just glad when I made my way through these 55 pages (and me taking 1.5 months to read 55 pages says it all…). Still, I really like these little Penguin editions, as you can dip your toes into a classical author without committing to an actual novel and find out, whether they are for you or not.

etherealsuju's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.5

okmlsa's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

emsemsems's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I'm so annoyed that I didn't like this as much as I had wanted to. I want to like Shirley Jackson so terribly. [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717._SY75_.jpg|3627] was alright but not fucking amazing. I might have to give [b:Hangsaman|131177|Hangsaman|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302734503l/131177._SY75_.jpg|1825944] a go and see how I feel about that. Third time's the charm perhaps? The first story in this little book is about a 'missing' girl that no one really gives a fuck about. The second one - I probably like best. It's about a boy who takes the train to his grandparents' - and meets someone accused of theft - and then she buys him a blueberry pie which was quite sweet in a messed up Shirley Jackson kind of way. The last story I like least of all - it's like a 'nightmare'/'dream' that I can't relate to/with at all. There's absolutely nothing 'shocking' or 'unique' about these stories. & it makes me wonder if I'm reading it wrong? Can one read something the wrong way?

More...