A review by daffodil152
Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson

5.0

Very nearly as good as the first book, Life Among the Savages! Shirley Jackson is hilarious as usual, and I was so sad to officially reach the end of the book. Jackson writes about her, her husband and their children leaving Vermont to go on vacation in New York City: "It has long been my belief that in times of great stress, such as a four-day vacation, the thin veneer of family unity wears off almost at once, and we are revealed in our true personalities; Laurie, for instance, is a small-town mayor, Jannie a Games Mistress, Sally a vague, stern old lady watching the rest of us with remote disapproval, and Barry a small intrepid foot soldier, following unquestioningly and doggedly. The two nervous creatures hovering in the background, making small futile gestures and tending to laugh weakly, are of course, unmistakable. They are there to help with the luggage."