A review by kmg365
The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson

3.0

Interesting book. It isn't near the top of my favorite Jackson works, but it's not difficult to spot themes and character types that reappeared in her later books. I was more than halfway through before the unsettling elements had aggregated enough for me to really feel like I was reading one of Shirley's novels.

Some fleeting impressions:

For a novel published in the 40s, and set in the 30s, it feels quite timeless.

When Mean Girl Helen moved away, Virginia Donald stepped neatly and happily into her shoes.

Frederica and Beverley reminded me of Merricat and Constance in We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Although we are never told who was responsible for the terrible thing that happens near the end of the book, the ambiguity made sense. There were at least a half-dozen characters (aside from the too-obvious scapegoat) who come to mind who would be capable of doing such a thing. Not only capable of the action, but of going home and sighing some version of “Why won't anyone think about how that other's family's tragedy is affecting ME?”

I found Lillian Tyler (sickly sister of Mrs. Ransom-Jones) to be one of the creepiest characters in the book. I haven't been able to find any online commentary on the book that mentions her, but I'm having a hard time scraping her out of my head.

Other than Tod (and in one scene, Artie Donald) the male characters in this book remain opaque. The husbands are mostly silent and/or sullen. The story of the neighborhood is largely the story of the women and children.

Cream cheese and sherry sandwiches? Uh... thank you so much, but no.