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creadsagain's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nikki_in_niagara's review against another edition
4.0
Hangsaman can mostly be called soft dark academia Divided into three sections, the first concerns Natalie's summer before she goes to college. The second is set at college and she finds an odd friend in the third. It's also a coming-of-age story for the seventeen-year-old.
I enjoyed this a lot. There was always something hanging in the air that something would happen. Often called horror it is very subtle like her other books I've read. I found Natalie to be an annoying creature and yet I was compelled to find out what she'd do next. My second favourite by the author. (First is "We Have Always Lived in the Castle.)
I enjoyed this a lot. There was always something hanging in the air that something would happen. Often called horror it is very subtle like her other books I've read. I found Natalie to be an annoying creature and yet I was compelled to find out what she'd do next. My second favourite by the author. (First is "We Have Always Lived in the Castle.)
rosafiona's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sam_bizar_wilcox's review against another edition
5.0
With time, I think, Hangsaman has become my favorite Jackson novel. What allures about this novel is its rich sense of atmosphere, its psychological acuteness, and the endearing narrative lens of Natalie Waite. Natalie is such a complex protagonistic force, a young woman on the verge of adulthood, a young woman overcoming very serious trauma, and a young woman unsure of what it means to even have an identity, let alone recognize hers as her own. Her voice is intellectually rich--perhaps with wisdom beyond her years--but with a meandering sense of selfhood that so effectively resonates with adolescence. The book that encases her is a jewel-box of evocative symbols: a clique of beautiful girls at the women's college, dark corridors and the uncanny spaces of home when no one is home, tarot cards, the forest. Hangsaman is, at heart, a character study: it zooms in on the threshold life of its protagonist on the brink of collapse. But it asks its readers to understand her. To be her. And to take her fantasies and fabrications seriously, because these are as serious as the work itself. For this, I am stunned by Hangsaman. It is a marvel.
slovenlymuse's review against another edition
4.0
Shirley Jackson has the most uncanny way of pulling the rug out from under you just when you think you've settled in to a predictable domestic or social drama. It's a magic trick that never fails to disorient and stun.
charliekusiel's review against another edition
5.0
The back cover includes quotes- “One cannot doubt a word that Shirley Jackson writes,” and “No one can question the author’s great ability,” - they are most certainly right. The same could not be said for the novel’s protagonist/antagonist, Natalie. Shirley Jackson: haunting, terrifying, beautiful as she ever was
lizbradford's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
zorawitchin's review against another edition
4.5
Not my favorite Shirley Jackson by a long shot (that title belongs to We Have Always Lived In The Castle) but credit where credit is due for being better than The Sundial.
hopeloveslit's review against another edition
3.5
Once again, Shirley Jackson has left me speechless, bewildered, and apprehensive. The Hangsaman is one of those eccentric novels you must revisit because so much is happening under the surface. Jackson does this so subtly. Many things can fly over your head (I think quite a bit flew over mine.) Nonetheless, after reading novels like this, I adore the confusion. The feeling of scouring the internet to find theories and analysis of a book… that's what I live for.