A review by elderlingfool
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

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".