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shaun_dh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The vibes are immaculate. The ending gave me chills. Women descending into madness is one of my favorite gothic tropes and Shirley Jackson is a master
Eleanor and Theodora are so lesbian-coded, but writers pre-21st century will do anything but make their characters openly gay (especially Theodora. She lives with a “friend?” Please, we all know what that means)
Eleanor and Theodora are so lesbian-coded, but writers pre-21st century will do anything but make their characters openly gay (especially Theodora. She lives with a “friend?” Please, we all know what that means)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
feynmaniac1729's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide
sleepye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
secondhandreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An atypical haunted house story with an ending you've seen coming for so long, it works its way back around to being a blunt shock by the finish. No ceremony no fluff. I think where this book really shines is as a commentary on the violence of casual human social cruelty. A harsh story about an anxious woman who's never been made to feel welcome, killed by the ease with which people are content to leave one another out. And maybe, just maybe, a house that wants blood - and induces madness to get it. All in all a great quick read, and a book that leaves you turning over its implications in your head.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
beccaand's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood and Car accident
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It was cool, but it wasn't super special to me. The characters really ended up annoying me by the end of the book, and I've never really been into haunted house stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ever since the Netflix series was released in 2018, The Haunting of Hill House has been an annual re-watch for me. Hill House is warm and comfortable. Hill House is home. I knew that the series was only inspired by the book and the stories would be very different, but I still felt like I needed to read the book that started it all. I’ve put it off for years, though, because I’ve never been a fan of the classics. I’ve always found them terribly dull, terribly disinteresting… I will die on the hill that many “classics” truly are not good, there just wasn’t anything better at the time. I’m happy to report, though, that the Hill House portrayed on page is as familiar as that on screen. I knew this house, and, somehow, I even knew these characters. The origins of Hill House are as familiar as ever.
A surprise for me was the not at all subtle sapphic undertones. BOLD for 1959. Had Hill House been written today, I can only imagine how much more I might’ve enjoyed it lol
On a more personal note - My birthday is the 21st of June. That date being mentioned twice - the only date specifically mentioned in the whole book - made me feel, in a small way, like Hill House calls to me too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief
hookerkitty's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Well this was incredibly disappointing. I think I fell asleep just about every time I tried reading this, regardless of how tired I felt beforehand.
And don’t know if it’s my ADHD or what, but so many of the sentences were sooo long (one even had two semicolons!) that I had no idea what was happening by the time I got to the end of it. I had to keep re-reading sections bc I kept zoning out of boredom.
I also wish that Eleanor and Theodora had more dissimilar names, bc I could not keep track of who was who for way too long. Mrs. Dudley felt like an NPC who’d only been programmed with a few set lines and very rarely deviated from them.
I was left with WAY more questions than answers. Many say this is done on purpose to be creepier - there are times where that works, but it just feels like lazy (or unskilled) writing to me. I don’t care how many awards it’s received. I love a good psychological horror/thriller/mystery, and while there were a couple times I actually got really into it, it’s disappointing that they were such short sections of the book. No good payoff in the end. While this isn’t even that old, it further cements my previous belief that older books are not for me.
And don’t know if it’s my ADHD or what, but so many of the sentences were sooo long (one even had two semicolons!) that I had no idea what was happening by the time I got to the end of it. I had to keep re-reading sections bc I kept zoning out of boredom.
I also wish that Eleanor and Theodora had more dissimilar names, bc I could not keep track of who was who for way too long. Mrs. Dudley felt like an NPC who’d only been programmed with a few set lines and very rarely deviated from them.
I was left with WAY more questions than answers. Many say this is done on purpose to be creepier - there are times where that works, but it just feels like lazy (or unskilled) writing to me. I don’t care how many awards it’s received. I love a good psychological horror/thriller/mystery, and while there were a couple times I actually got really into it, it’s disappointing that they were such short sections of the book. No good payoff in the end. While this isn’t even that old, it further cements my previous belief that older books are not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
elg1105's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Car accident
lostfoxtrail's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Spook factor off the charts. Love this book. Shirley Jackson can do no wrong. One of the scariest lines I’ve ever read is in this book: “Then whose hand was I holding?”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death