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drewreadsintherain's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
silenttwg's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This is the memoir of our beloved author and life with her husband and children. I found a copy in the horror section at one of our local used bookstores and after checking out the blurb on the back, had to take it home.
BEST DECISION EVER!!!
This may honestly be one of my new favorites of all-time books. I laughed out loud so many times and had to share multiple passages with whatever poor victim was nearby. This is not a new book, heck, it's in its 70s, and yet, it felt so incredibly relatable.
This is a gem that I can foresee many rereads in the future. I feel like if you have a reader friend who's also a parent, this is the perfect gift. Loved the insight into the family life and what happens when your whole family has big imagination, and wild senses of adventure and humor.
BEST DECISION EVER!!!
This may honestly be one of my new favorites of all-time books. I laughed out loud so many times and had to share multiple passages with whatever poor victim was nearby. This is not a new book, heck, it's in its 70s, and yet, it felt so incredibly relatable.
This is a gem that I can foresee many rereads in the future. I feel like if you have a reader friend who's also a parent, this is the perfect gift. Loved the insight into the family life and what happens when your whole family has big imagination, and wild senses of adventure and humor.
katieinca's review
4.0
Shirley Jackson is my kind of mom. But, you know, with sassy 1940s children. And a much bigger house.
Highly recommended for parents who think today's kids don't mind they way kids used to...
Highly recommended for parents who think today's kids don't mind they way kids used to...
radbadmads's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I really enjoyed the sweetly sardonic tone she used to represent motherhood. She wasn’t feverishly resentful nor passionate about the daily doldrums of life with three kids and counting. Her recount of it all sounded so natural and easy… though, the rhythm would change depending on the mood.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve read two of Jackson’s classic “horror” tales previously: The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived In the Castle. So, I knew she was a talented writer. But I had no idea she had such a wicked sense of humor!
This collection of essays / vignettes is about Jackson and her family’s move to a small town in Vermont, where she and her husband settled into a large house and proceeded to fill it with children and books, a dog, two cats and “literally thousands of socks.”
It takes place in the early to mid 1950s, when women were typically homemakers, juggling all the aspects of running the household and raising the children, while their husbands went to work, read the newspaper, and occasionally played catch with their sons. The episodes includes a furnace on the blink, a rodent in the house, shopping for children’s clothes and shoes, everyone having the grippe, PTA meetings, shopping for and making family meals (not to mention LOTS of chocolate pudding) and learning to drive. Fueled by little more than coffee, cigarettes and a cocktail before dinner, Jackson dealt with it all with humor and a somewhat detached manner that preserved her sanity.
This collection of essays / vignettes is about Jackson and her family’s move to a small town in Vermont, where she and her husband settled into a large house and proceeded to fill it with children and books, a dog, two cats and “literally thousands of socks.”
It takes place in the early to mid 1950s, when women were typically homemakers, juggling all the aspects of running the household and raising the children, while their husbands went to work, read the newspaper, and occasionally played catch with their sons. The episodes includes a furnace on the blink, a rodent in the house, shopping for children’s clothes and shoes, everyone having the grippe, PTA meetings, shopping for and making family meals (not to mention LOTS of chocolate pudding) and learning to drive. Fueled by little more than coffee, cigarettes and a cocktail before dinner, Jackson dealt with it all with humor and a somewhat detached manner that preserved her sanity.