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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
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:
Yes
I really like Shirley Jackson. And this book tried to make me like her less. It didn't work, but it was hard to focus.
Good Literary Fiction, if I can borrow from the description of Historical Fiction. The book is almost as creepy, and certainly as intelligent, as the style its subject, Shirley Jackson, creates. i recommend it.
It seemed the household functioned around that sound, that it was the linchpin and the director of all activity: if she was typing, that took priority over anything else.Young couple Rose and Fred Nemser are taken in by the Jackson-Hyman household and enter a year of habitual insanity. Rose, enamored by the house and its matronly figure, befriends Shirley and her fluctuating moods. She is lead towards witchery and thrust into the mistery surrounding the disappearance of a college student attending the classes of Jackson's husband. Like a prolonged dinner party, the plot teeters at the edge of insanity but never really crosses it.
As a fan of Jackson, I decided to work my way through her catalogue of stories this year. Hesitant to read this book, I was pleasantly surprised of Merrell's respectfully handled creative liberties. She has woven facts about Jackson's life into an engaging Gothic tale that I am sure Jackson herself would find amusing, at the least. It highlights the eccentricities and persona of Jackson without exploiting her, at the time rather negative perception, to garner cheap scares. Sadness and honesty permeates the prose and even though I found the resolution slightly lacking, it was fitting to the tale perhaps Jackson might come up with herself.
I am sure this book holds its own as a Gothic tale but I also know it is that more enjoyable when you know about Shirley's life and personal habits. If you can't find the time to read this, a film adaptation comes out in June with a stunning performance by Elisabeth Moss, so at least check that out.
Exceeded all of my expectations, but I wasn't a big fan of the ending. However, still a great read, and a must read for any fans of Shirley Jackson.
cool but this is a rare case in which the movie is better than the book
I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
"Shirley" is an engrossing and intelligently written novel. The author's prose is so beautiful that even when the plot thins I still wanted to keep reading. What I appreciated the most about "Shirley" is how relatable the characters were. I understood Rose and her youth and her determination to be part of a family, to be adored by these intelligent and important writers. I understood Shirley and her madness, and felt her betrayals acutely. I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to my book clubs.
"Shirley" is an engrossing and intelligently written novel. The author's prose is so beautiful that even when the plot thins I still wanted to keep reading. What I appreciated the most about "Shirley" is how relatable the characters were. I understood Rose and her youth and her determination to be part of a family, to be adored by these intelligent and important writers. I understood Shirley and her madness, and felt her betrayals acutely. I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to my book clubs.
Several weekends ago I watched the movie Shirley. It’s a good movie, satisfying in a number of ways. But I was increasingly bothered by its pretense that Jackson had no children—who, in real life, were a huge part of Jackson’s life and work. The movie makes no claim at being a biopic, but the children’s nonexistence came to seem, to me, lazy—as if the filmmakers couldn’t be bothered to figure out how to incorporate children in the story they wanted to tell.
I turned to the novel the movie was based on to see how it handled the existence of the children. They’re mentioned almost right away: The oldest is married and the youngest is twelve at its start. (The book covers 1964/5; the movie seems to be set in the late 40s/very early 50s when Jackson in real life would’ve been working on her second novel while taking care of three young children and likely pregnant with the fourth.) In the novel the first-person-narrator’s interaction with the children is limited, mostly used to show her jealousy of their relationships with Shirley.
At the book’s start I wasn’t captivated by the prose, but as I continued it didn’t bother me as much. It’s obvious to this Shirley Jackson fan that the novelist knows her Shirley Jackson too, but that’s not nearly enough for me. I expected there to be more of a reason for the writer’s use of Jackson. I also didn’t understand the point of several of the scenes.
In a nutshell, this book wasn’t for me. I figured it wouldn’t be, but I was curious.
I turned to the novel the movie was based on to see how it handled the existence of the children. They’re mentioned almost right away: The oldest is married and the youngest is twelve at its start. (The book covers 1964/5; the movie seems to be set in the late 40s/very early 50s when Jackson in real life would’ve been working on her second novel while taking care of three young children and likely pregnant with the fourth.) In the novel the first-person-narrator’s interaction with the children is limited, mostly used to show her jealousy of their relationships with Shirley.
At the book’s start I wasn’t captivated by the prose, but as I continued it didn’t bother me as much. It’s obvious to this Shirley Jackson fan that the novelist knows her Shirley Jackson too, but that’s not nearly enough for me. I expected there to be more of a reason for the writer’s use of Jackson. I also didn’t understand the point of several of the scenes.
In a nutshell, this book wasn’t for me. I figured it wouldn’t be, but I was curious.
A graduate student and his young, pregnant wife come to Vermont to live with Stanley Hyman and his more famous wife, Shirley Jackson. Fred the grad student spends a great deal of time at the nearby college or interacting with Stanley, who is also a professor of Literature at the same college. Rose, the pregnant wife, spends her days with Shirley Jackson learning to entertain their house guests and keeping up with the housework so that Shirley can write. Rose becomes fascinated with the story of a student who mysteriously disappeared some twenty years earlier hiking in the mountains and finds herself immersed a little too closely into her tale.
This is a literary book, a book written for it's artistry of how the words and sentences are put together. This book calls itself a thriller but it's not really. There's a couple of moments that really grab your attention but I wouldn't call them thrilling. It's sort of like riding a kiddie-roller coaster. It looks fun so you ride it, but then you learn that it's not really all that exciting. The characters were really nicely developed but it takes forever for the plot to get anywhere. It did make me wonder how close the author got to describing Shirley Jackson's persona. She seems nice, friendly and charming for the most part, but maybe not so much once you've gotten on the wrong side of her (as anyone would be?).
Her children were annoying twits in the book. And Stanley, well.... was Stanley.... a womanizer known for sleeping with his students. The book is mostly set in Vermont, where Shirley and Stanley lived. There are many scenes involving characters drinking alcohol but no other substance use. No violence. Some references to characters having sex, but never described on the page. This would be a good book for anyone who likes Shirley Jackson. I am giving this book four stars for the slow-moving plot.
This is a literary book, a book written for it's artistry of how the words and sentences are put together. This book calls itself a thriller but it's not really. There's a couple of moments that really grab your attention but I wouldn't call them thrilling. It's sort of like riding a kiddie-roller coaster. It looks fun so you ride it, but then you learn that it's not really all that exciting. The characters were really nicely developed but it takes forever for the plot to get anywhere. It did make me wonder how close the author got to describing Shirley Jackson's persona. She seems nice, friendly and charming for the most part, but maybe not so much once you've gotten on the wrong side of her (as anyone would be?).
Her children were annoying twits in the book. And Stanley, well.... was Stanley.... a womanizer known for sleeping with his students. The book is mostly set in Vermont, where Shirley and Stanley lived. There are many scenes involving characters drinking alcohol but no other substance use. No violence. Some references to characters having sex, but never described on the page. This would be a good book for anyone who likes Shirley Jackson. I am giving this book four stars for the slow-moving plot.