Reviews

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

angelamarcela2's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The title story, The Lottery is absolutely the stand out story in this book. The other stories are creepy, or awkward in some manner- definitely leaving you unsettled, but not the same manner as The Lottery. There are a few stand out stories- such as The Daemon Lover, The Witch, and the Flower Garden- but again not to the same effect of The Lottery. This collection of stories clearly display Jackson’s strengths as a writer and why she is considered such a classic.

Enjoyable and a quick read- I do suggest this class is book, you just have to make it through to the end!

annabellw06_'s review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

marsearly's review against another edition

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dark reflective 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? Yes

4.5

eqlamont18's review against another edition

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4.0

i enjoyed these stories immensely! i didn’t find that any of them rivaled “the lottery” in terms of being overtly creepy… almost feel it was less of horror for the most part and more social commentary through slightly unsettling events? it was in the horror section of b&n so i wanted to read this book during daylight hours but turns out i needn’t have worried

johnkuznik's review against another edition

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dark lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

pastelhellion's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

elderlingfool's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have read the titular story of this collection years ago and it is in fact one of the best works in this book. There are twenty five short stories in here, plus an epilogue, and all of them are interesting. 
All of the stories in this collection are good and contain major themes of identity or prejudice. Some names are repeated across the stories, like James. 
Most of the stories describe everyday events (that can be scary in their own right) so "The Lottery" stands out by being the most fantastical out of all the stories. Some of the others contain seemingly fantastical elements, but those are used as a sign of losing sanity. 
As it happens with every collection, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. In this case, my favourites were "The Lottery", "Charles", "After You, My Dear Alphonse", "Like Mother Used to Make" and "Dorothy and My Grandmother and the Sailors". 

kacuuska's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

lindasdarby's review against another edition

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4.0

This story is crazy and of course it is the basis for The Hunger Games.

bazzie101's review against another edition

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2.0

3.5 stars for “The Lottery” 
Didn’t really enjoy the rest