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alisynamant's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
stories_of_the_soul27's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The reason I liked this book, even though the most common criticisms go is that the pacing is slow and nothing really happens, is because it reaffirmed my conviction that children are the scariest little shits on this planet.
I truly believe that children and teenagers could be the meanest people ever and they become mean because of the adults in their life, who impose on them their bigoted values and the children’s brain distort them to the worst possible level.
This book showed exactly that. Through so many incidents and dialogues, Jackson showed the mentality and behaviour of the kids and the adults. How snob they were, how little love there was among the neighbours and the families alike, how the upbringing differed for the boys and the girls. To me plenty happened throughout the book - the number of times I was sick of the response of the kids and the adults to certain situations. The characterisation was done really well. The horror of the ending won’t really hit home had Jackson didn’t put effort into building the characters so thoroughly!
I truly believe that children and teenagers could be the meanest people ever and they become mean because of the adults in their life, who impose on them their bigoted values and the children’s brain distort them to the worst possible level.
This book showed exactly that. Through so many incidents and dialogues, Jackson showed the mentality and behaviour of the kids and the adults. How snob they were, how little love there was among the neighbours and the families alike, how the upbringing differed for the boys and the girls. To me plenty happened throughout the book - the number of times I was sick of the response of the kids and the adults to certain situations. The characterisation was done really well. The horror of the ending won’t really hit home had Jackson didn’t put effort into building the characters so thoroughly!
rachaeljs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was exactly the type of slow burn I'd expect from Shirley Jackson, you have to be along for the ride in order to enjoy this drawn out character driven story. It is mainly a detailed recounting of the day to day life of the wealthy families living on pepper street, to whom status is everything and the less fortunate are pitiful threats to their "happiness." I was charmed by Jackson's depiction of children and the senseless logic/conversations they partake in. She is very sympathetic to how complicated and impressionable kids are, while highlighting the faults of the adults in charge. The ending is tragic but satisfying, I was initially going to rate 3 stars but bumped an extra .5 because of how often I think about this book. There are a ton of characters who are impossible to keep straight, but that's kind of the point so once you're resigned to a little confused monotony you can enjoy it.
freshie's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 - takes a long time to get started and is often hard to remember the large cast of characters but definitely a good book. It is clear this is Shirley Jackson’s first book since it falters a lot with pacing but still has her satire and dread.
I love a “rich people are their own enemies” theme but there’s no central plot to hold it together. It’s more just little vignettes into the cruelty of children and how their parents teach them to act this way. However the openness of some of the resolutions to plot lines does work well with the themes of gossip and “if everyone believes it does the truth even matter?”
I love a “rich people are their own enemies” theme but there’s no central plot to hold it together. It’s more just little vignettes into the cruelty of children and how their parents teach them to act this way. However the openness of some of the resolutions to plot lines does work well with the themes of gossip and “if everyone believes it does the truth even matter?”
mcancian's review against another edition
shirley jackson queen of writing what appears to be a normal book and then going absolutely insane in the last ten pages
technicolour's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
allielit's review against another edition
3.0
I agree with one reviewer that the back cover description didn't really do this justice, but then again maybe it did given the suspense and climax were within the last few pages. I loved the The Lottery and her overall satirical look at the self-righteous, so I'm going to check out her other books.
njdarkish's review against another edition
3.0
Though the end of the novel definitely is in line with Jackson's sinister genius, most of the book felt fairly aimless, and featured a large cast that was very difficult to keep straight. The ending was definitely a gut-punch, though. You can see how Jackson's incredible later novels followed after this debut, so it's worth picking up if you enjoy seeing how a master develops over time.
chrisramos_readingrecord_2024's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0