Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Lotre dan Cerita-Cerita Lainnya by Shirley Jackson

1 review

e_r_q's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

"I bought her a rocking-horse and a doll and a million lollipops, [...] and then I took her and I put my hands around her neck and I pinched her and I pinched her until she was dead."

In The Lottery and other stories, Shirley Jackson presents a series of stories, that tell tales of mundane or domestic settings, characters and concepts, that become nightmarishly twisted. Nothing is more illustrative of this distortion of normality than the ominous recurring character of James Harris, who travels between short stories like some sort of spectre.

This is my first time properly reading through a short story collection, and I must confess it was surprisingly exhausting at times. And of course, the stories were of varying degrees of quality, which comes with the territory. When the short stories are good, they're really good, and when they're not good, they're just forgettable and inoffensive. But regardless, the quality of Jackson's writing is still consistently great throughout.

So here are some short reviews I wrote for each story as I went along:

1) The Intoxicated (3/5)
A well written exchange between two people, divided by outlook, age, gender and sobriety. It also addressed some similar apocalyptic themes to Shirley Jackson's novel The Sundial. Aside from that, this story didn't really offer much.
2) The Daemon Lover (4/5)
For such a short story, Jackson is able to craft characters so intricately, especially the jilted bride protagonist. Through her distinctive writing, Jackson immerses us into the bride's anxious, desperate, restless and isolated perspective. My only gripe is that the narrative structure feels a little repetitive, although that structure does successfully heighten the feelings of insanity.
3) Like Mother Used To Make (3/5)
Every time I start a new short story, I am always immediately impressed by Jackson's ability to efficiently craft fleshed out characters in such a short space of time. The ending of this one is also satisfying funny and also somewhat nightmarish. It's also interesting that the elusive and slightly sinister character of James (Jamie) Harris, from the previous story, makes a reappearance here. I do wish this entry was a little longer so the story, and the twist, had more room to breathe.
4) Trial by Combat (2/5)
An intriguing (but then again, rather generic) concept, and a cool character dynamic, that unfortunately doesn't really go anywhere.
5) The Villager (3/5)
Again, I really really loved the protagonist in this, and I'm impressed with how well Jackson crafted her in such a short period of time. I liked the themes surrounding the strains of performing and giving up all of your ambitions to fit in. It's also interesting that Mr. Harris makes another appearance here. However, not much else of note really happened in this short.
6) My Life with R. H. Macy (4/5)
I love how Jackson's frantic and overwhelming writing makes the world of retail feel like some dystopian and dehumanising society.
7) The Witch (5/5)
Such a simple and macarbe story, that can surprisingly be interpreted in so many different ways. I loved the central childlike perspective, and also the childish but disturbingly sadistic and violent tale at the centre of the story.
8) The Renegade (5/5)
Mrs Walpole, a domestic house wife from the city, struggles to adapt to life in the country, which is underpinned with cruelty and violence. The dog is of course a metaphor for Mrs Walpole.
9) After You, My Dear Alphonse (3/5)
A surprisingly nuanced exploration of underlying racist preconceptions and stereotypes in domestic settings. The difference between how Mrs Wilson and her son Johnny interact with Boyd demonstrates how prejudice is gradually taught by racist society.
10) Charles (4/5)
Jackson crafts an incredibly believable family dynamic, as well as a very cool (although very predictable) twist. I love it when Jackson writes about truly wicked and evil children.
11) Afternoon in Linen (2/5)
A rather sad story about how people often use children as status symbols to compete with eachother, often without any regard for its impact on the children in question. There's also a nice poem in the middle. Aside from that, this story was a little underwhelming.
12) Flower Garden (5/5)
A chilling portrait of small-town racism. The central character, Mrs. Winning, paradoxically views those below her as inferior, whilst simultaneously envying them. Jackson's writing is beautiful and atmospheric, and the longer length of this story gives the narrative the perfect pace, allowing for a gradual build in the intensity of the town's racist micro-agressions.
13) Dorothy and My Grandmother and the Sailors (1/5)
A tale of extreme androphobia, with a well described setting. Unfortunately, I actually found this story to be very boring, even despite its short length. I'm not really a fan of this one.
14) Colloquy (1/5)
Mrs. Arnold's dialogue is written well by Jackson, and it effectively conveys feelings of confusion, dissociation and "insanity". But really this story is just too short to leave any lasting impact.
15) Elizabeth (3/5)
An extremely well-crafted character study of a bitter woman, whose life is stuck in stagnation, and all of her ambitions have been whithered and squandered. However, where Flower Garden benefitted from its longer length, Elizabeth actually suffers. This unfortunately dragged quite a bit.
16) A Fine Old Firm (1/5)
It's safe to say, I didn't really get what this story was trying to say. It just feels quite inconsequential.
17) The Dummy (3/5)
A darkly absurd concept, that explores themes of public performance, impulsivity and the brokenness of the self.
18) Seven Types of Ambiguity (3/5)
I LOVE the book shop setting of this short story, and Jackson describes it so wonderfully. I just want to be there. The conclusion of this is also effectively unjust. I feel Jackson is exploring the pettiness of humans. This story also tackles the idea of how some people consume art and literature because they are genuinely passionate about it, wheras others materialistically view it as nothing but a status symbol.
19) Come Dance with Me in Ireland (2/5)
I guess the way this escalated was pretty funny, but overall this felt kind of pointless.
20) Of Course (3/5)
A subtly disquieting tale of feigned polite acceptance in the face of an almost fascist and dictatorial patriarchal control, which is embodied by the return of the foreboding character James Harris.
21) Pillar of Salt (5/5)
Powerfully and maddeningly written. Jackson expertly captures a suburban house wife who increasingly unravels under the frantic pressures of life in New York City. Her descent into "madness" feels somewhat reminiscent of Eleanor's gradual detachment from reality in The Haunting of Hill House. I loved this story.
22) Men with Their Big Shoes (3/5)
You can really tell how much Shirley Jackson hated her husband while reading this, and I for one like it! A pretty well written exchange between two well crafted characters, that explores themes of status, marriage, class, reputation and gossip.
23) The Tooth (5/5)
This is probably Jackson's best writing out of all the short stories here. She powerfully conjures a feverish, delirious and nightmarish atmosphere.
24) Got a Letter from Jimmy (3/5)
I love the narrator's bitter and homicidal internal thoughts in this one. But once again this is just too short to leave a lasting impression.
25) The Lottery (5/5)
The Lottery is so highly regarded for good reason. In this tense, shocking and somewhat darkly funny short story, Jackson pairs casual suburban traditions, and hegemonic gender/family roles, with disturbingly dystopian ritualistic group violence. The resulting surreal incongruity is magnificent.

OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE: 3.24/5
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