A review by cinnamonmarti
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I'm so conflicted about this one.
I've had to Google 'haunting of hill house explained' immediately after finishing it, because I was internal y debating whether the book was too complex or I was too inexperienced for this type of horror read. I'm still not sure which is it.
I'll say that Shirley Jackson's talent shines through the pages without a doubt: the dialogues are brilliant in their eerie, tortuous progression and the haunted house atmosphere is fully believable. I also found it super interesting how almost the whole first half felt like a masterful satire of the gothic horror tropes! With that being said, I found myself thinking "so – that's it?" after the last chapter. I guess I wanted to feel thoroughly spooked and creeped out by this novel and it didn't happen. The ending is ambiguous to the point of being frustrating and we never find out if there is a reason and a logic to the haunting itself.
Overall this may be my not-keen-on-horror self speaking and I'm sure other readers will feel differently about it, but I was quite disappointed.
I've had to Google 'haunting of hill house explained' immediately after finishing it, because I was internal y debating whether the book was too complex or I was too inexperienced for this type of horror read. I'm still not sure which is it.
I'll say that Shirley Jackson's talent shines through the pages without a doubt: the dialogues are brilliant in their eerie, tortuous progression and the haunted house atmosphere is fully believable. I also found it super interesting how almost the whole first half felt like a masterful satire of the gothic horror tropes! With that being said, I found myself thinking "so – that's it?" after the last chapter. I guess I wanted to feel thoroughly spooked and creeped out by this novel and it didn't happen. The ending is ambiguous to the point of being frustrating and we never find out if there is a reason and a logic to the haunting itself.
Overall this may be my not-keen-on-horror self speaking and I'm sure other readers will feel differently about it, but I was quite disappointed.