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A review by midnightcowboy
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
2.0
Wow. Very disappointed.
I am such a fan of We Have Always Lived in the Castle that I was estatic to read more by Shirley Jackson. It took the library a hot minute to procure a copy of Hangsaman and I sped through the other three novels I had previously checked out, to fulfill my masochistic need for dread that Jackson creates so well in her writing.
I was disappointed.
The story just doesn't blend well together. It feels as if its written in different parts and these parts are all separate from each other. I could see the separation between Natalie and her family and school, and perhaps it was an attempt at being clever on Jackson's part to show such a separation in a mentally ill person but as a reader I really didn't buy it. There was hardly a story here at all.
On top of there not being much of a plot, the writing was, for the most part, pretty terrible. Felt like I was reading gibberish at times, and that many sentences we're formulated just for sentences sake.
I will say there were parts within the parts of this book that I did feel a hint of dread, and occasionally I could follow the story and see it going somewhere, and it wasn't gibberish and I could quickly turn page after page. It just didn't happen nearly enough. Sad.
I know that Jackson is extremely talented, and although this was a flop for me, I'm interested to check out the rest of her works. If she could write a masterpiece like WHALITC, then I'm sure I won't be disappointed next time.
I am such a fan of We Have Always Lived in the Castle that I was estatic to read more by Shirley Jackson. It took the library a hot minute to procure a copy of Hangsaman and I sped through the other three novels I had previously checked out, to fulfill my masochistic need for dread that Jackson creates so well in her writing.
I was disappointed.
The story just doesn't blend well together. It feels as if its written in different parts and these parts are all separate from each other. I could see the separation between Natalie and her family and school, and perhaps it was an attempt at being clever on Jackson's part to show such a separation in a mentally ill person but as a reader I really didn't buy it. There was hardly a story here at all.
On top of there not being much of a plot, the writing was, for the most part, pretty terrible. Felt like I was reading gibberish at times, and that many sentences we're formulated just for sentences sake.
I will say there were parts within the parts of this book that I did feel a hint of dread, and occasionally I could follow the story and see it going somewhere, and it wasn't gibberish and I could quickly turn page after page. It just didn't happen nearly enough. Sad.
I know that Jackson is extremely talented, and although this was a flop for me, I'm interested to check out the rest of her works. If she could write a masterpiece like WHALITC, then I'm sure I won't be disappointed next time.