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A review by mickeymole
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
5.0
It’s been a long time (years) since I’ve read such an exceptional, polished biography. Ruth Franklin’s book is a finely edited, smooth-flowing, easy to follow story of the author of one of my all-time favorite novels, [b:We Have Always Lived in the Castle|89724|We Have Always Lived in the Castle|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415357189l/89724._SX50_.jpg|847007]
At just over 500 pages, it provides a quality view of Shirley Jackson’s life, paying especial attention to her development as a writer. Franklin seldom repeats herself, and offers critique and meaning on the writer’s work, interlaced with the views of Jackson’s contemporaries. The novels and short stories are illuminated, and that, to me, is what makes this biography so good.
The chronology of chapters are laid out perfectly, without the switching back and forth in time that seems to be the practice of a lot of modern biographers. We get an easy-to-read chronicle of Jackson’s life that is both thorough and concise. Each chapter is titled with a reference to its main theme, also noting the years encompassed. She goes in depth discussing the metamorphosis of each novel, and in particular Jackson’s famous short-story, [b:The Lottery|6219656|The Lottery|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348757577l/6219656._SY75_.jpg|15161007].
We also learn a great deal about the times in which Jackson lived--through McCarthy’s Red Scare, and into the Cold War. Literary criticism and the publishing industry of the era are given ample explanation as well.
Although Jackson’s husband, Stanley Hyman is discussed a bit much for my taste, he was so instrumental in Jackson’s life, for better or worse, it would be impossible to tell her story without going into that detail. If Jackson’s life was “haunted”, the goblins were Hyman and her mother, Geraldine. Those two certainly put a depressing, aggravating mojo on her. There was no pleasing her condescending mother. She belittled Jackson her entire life. Stanley had more faults than a human has a right to have, and he was also weird as hell. While Shirley was in college, Stanley carried around her pessary, and showed it to anyone who would look. ‘Nuff said.
The photos scattered throughout are a bonus, except I found a lot of them printed too small. I had to pull out a magnifying glass on a few of them to even read the captions.
If you’re a fan of Jackson’s work, you should definitely read this biography. I love her novels, and after reading this, I’m certain I would have liked Shirley herself. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was a big fan of baseball. For no other reason, this could have made us friends.
At just over 500 pages, it provides a quality view of Shirley Jackson’s life, paying especial attention to her development as a writer. Franklin seldom repeats herself, and offers critique and meaning on the writer’s work, interlaced with the views of Jackson’s contemporaries. The novels and short stories are illuminated, and that, to me, is what makes this biography so good.
The chronology of chapters are laid out perfectly, without the switching back and forth in time that seems to be the practice of a lot of modern biographers. We get an easy-to-read chronicle of Jackson’s life that is both thorough and concise. Each chapter is titled with a reference to its main theme, also noting the years encompassed. She goes in depth discussing the metamorphosis of each novel, and in particular Jackson’s famous short-story, [b:The Lottery|6219656|The Lottery|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348757577l/6219656._SY75_.jpg|15161007].
We also learn a great deal about the times in which Jackson lived--through McCarthy’s Red Scare, and into the Cold War. Literary criticism and the publishing industry of the era are given ample explanation as well.
Although Jackson’s husband, Stanley Hyman is discussed a bit much for my taste, he was so instrumental in Jackson’s life, for better or worse, it would be impossible to tell her story without going into that detail. If Jackson’s life was “haunted”, the goblins were Hyman and her mother, Geraldine. Those two certainly put a depressing, aggravating mojo on her. There was no pleasing her condescending mother. She belittled Jackson her entire life. Stanley had more faults than a human has a right to have, and he was also weird as hell. While Shirley was in college, Stanley carried around her pessary, and showed it to anyone who would look. ‘Nuff said.
The photos scattered throughout are a bonus, except I found a lot of them printed too small. I had to pull out a magnifying glass on a few of them to even read the captions.
If you’re a fan of Jackson’s work, you should definitely read this biography. I love her novels, and after reading this, I’m certain I would have liked Shirley herself. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was a big fan of baseball. For no other reason, this could have made us friends.