Reviews

The Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson

Only show reviews with written explanations

katharinaxx's review against another edition

4.0

I picked up Shirley Jackson for the first time after watching Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, and with some disappointment (which wasn't fair to the original author), I realized none of the stories in this book were horror.

Genre aside, though most of the stories weren't a pleasant read, I really liked the masterful depictions of humanity and society. Reading the book, I was often reminded of Eileen Chang's (張愛玲) writing: Both Shirley Jackson and Eileen Chang had a way of describing the subtleties of the wicked and calculating human nature underneath the seemingly bland and amiable day-to-day life. Shirley Jackson wrote about suburbia housewives and disorienting city lives; Eileen Chang wrote more about romance with a history backdrop - one of Americans, one of Chinese, yet it was surprising how similar humanity could be.

To me, both Shirley Jackson and Eileen Chang tended to have fairly negative outlooks on the stories they were writing. I can't help but notice that both authors were educated women with unhappy upbringings and unsatisfactory marriages. The fact that they were very observant people probably didn't help themselves lead a more blissful life, but (if it's any consolation) it truly yielded great literature, with those fable-like stories voicing many different aspects of suppressions.

adearen's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

kratositaly's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.0

madisonhp's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

lydthekid's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

trangham283's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-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

An interesting take on the "horror" genre. In the contemporary horror space, this was not at all "scary" in that sense (in my opinion). Most of the dread/terror in the stories are from seemingly mundane and innocuous life and the people's mental stability deteriorating within this world. Not really my cup of tea, though maybe having expected "horror" kind of ruined it for me.

An attempt to summarize each story (spoilers-ish!)

Spoiler

"The Intoxicated": Go home dude, you're drunk.
"The Daemon Lover": Did he ghost me??
"Like Mother Used to Make": Roommates are the worst.
"Trial by Combat": I chose passive aggression and it didn't work.
"The Villager": Furniture!
"My Life with R. H. Macy": /r/antiwork
"The Witch": Children are scary.
"The Renegade": Neighbors are scary.
"After You, My Dear Alphonse": My family > yours.
"Charles": Children are scary, continued.
"Afternoon in Linen": My family > yours, continued.
"Flower Garden": Mob mentality.
"Dorothy and My Grandmother and the Sailors": Stranger danger
"Colloquy": (Don't) Trust Me, I'm a Doctor
"Elizabeth": Neighbors are scary, continued, continued
"A Fine Old Firm": My family > yours, continued, continued
"The Dummy": Anger management
"Seven Types of Ambiguity": I call dibs
"Come Dance with Me in Ireland": Stranger danger, continued
"Of Course": My neighbors are weird.
"Pillar of Salt": NYC, a descent into madness
"Men with Their Big Shoes": My maid is weird
"The Tooth": NYC, a descent into madness, part 2
"Got a Letter from Jimmy": I want to kill my husband
"The Lottery": Mob mentality on steroid