Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

136 reviews

lowwi_owo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident

meliemelo's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Quite spooky, and I loved how much of it remained mysterious. It made me appreciate the Flanaghan adaptation even more, seeing what had been used and how. I'm also really curious to watch the first movie adaptation (the one with Catherine Zeta-Jones was... well, maybe tried to explain too much, and went for spectacular above all else).

But back to the novel itself. It was very atmospheric, more psychological than I expected, with the characters' emotions and behaviour progressively hightened. I would love to read essays about Eleanor and especially Theo (may have gotten a bit of a headstart on that one).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Death, Suicide, and Car accident

Moderate: Blood and Child death

mythsofher's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective slow-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent

eric1992's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, and Alcohol

lilifane's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To be honest, I didn't expect to like this so much. I knew it was different from the Netflix show and classics are always a hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. The writing is great, the atmosphere fantastic, I liked the characters and their dynamics. I didn't like the ending that much, though. But the more I think about it, the more I understand and appreciate it. There is just something that bothers me about it. Maybe it was too abrupt, maybe I needed a little more time at the end? Maybe I was identifying with Eleanor too much? 

I kind of wish I had read the book before I watched the show. It is a different story, but it still influenced my reading of the book, my expectations, and the way I saw the characters. Can't say I was surprised by most of the things that happened here. I'm curious how I would have felt the other way around. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Death, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Grief

bethmerci's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

and they were roommates???

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Death of parent, Ableism, Chronic illness, and Death

luv2readbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Minor: Suicide, Child death, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

anna_hepworth's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I can see why this is a classic horror story, and I imagine that it would translate quite well into a visual medium.  While very well written, I didn't find myself gripped by it. 

Lots of interesting details that I think may well have been picked up in later horror as worth developing - the cook with the very persistent phrasing and timing of events; the angles of the house that are just a bit off; how the haunting episodes occur. 

What didn't work for me was the characterisation. The viewpoint character, Eleanor, was the best fleshed out, but only because we get a lot of what is going on in their head. The others were a bit flat. Particularly the two characters introduced later in the book, who were just a bit too close to farce, and seemed to be in a completely different genre of story. This might have been meant to intensify the creepiness the others were experiencing, but instead it managed to cheapen it. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

foxclcves's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Gaslighting, Blood, Car accident, Death, Suicide, and Cursing

starlit_pathways's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Car accident, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Grief