Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Haunting of Hill House

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

153 reviews

melissathejan's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Came for the horror, stayed for the characters. I felt Eleanor, my Nell, in my bones, and the relationship between Nell and Theo will stay with me for a long time. I think this will be one I revisit again and again.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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ghulsona's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my first time delving into the horror genre for books, and I can safely say I enjoyed it wayyy more than I thought I would. It was more tense and uneasy than actually scary, but I really loved the psychological slow burn. Shirley Jackson's prose is lush and gorgeous; I am absolutely enamored with the one passage where Eleanor is driving to Hill House and imagines herself as a lost fae princess returning home. Speaking of Eleanor, she was a fantastic character. In a way, she really was a lost princess returning back to what she thinks is her rightful home. After years of repressing her emotions, she finally gets to explore them . . . in a haunted house setting. Isn't it so heartbreaking how the house exploits her desire to have a home, to the point of self-destruction? I love me a good unreliable narrator :') The other characters were also delightful. I may be reading too much into it, but Eleanor was definitely in love with Theodora, right? Gah, I really adore this book!!!

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davidrb's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm actually going to go crazy go stupid over how much I loved this book. It's slow, yeah, but Jackson uses her unique and considerable talent to build dread, just as in We Have Always Lived: the prose is gorgeous and lush, but the real star here is her character development. Eleanor is a powerful protagonist, dynamic despite her meekness and not at all what I expected, but Theo and Luke play excellent foils both to her and each other. The trio of assistants make this book more than worth the price of entry.

Quick aside: having seen both The Haunting (movie) and The Haunting of Hill House (show), I can confidently say that the original book is my favorite when set next to its adaptations. They're all different (and all very good), but the book just does it for me.

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jojo_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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rinitealeaf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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jbabbm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Slow start but interesting development and ending. This is not a scary or horror book, at least in my opinion and the way I felt while reading it. Shirley Jackson did make a great job at writing this story.

If you are planning to read this because of the Netflix show, do know that this is a very different story with only some similarities and details they did decided to include in the series.

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