A review by karahildebrand
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Incredible transformative writing, conflicting and shifting character relationships, and vivid psychological torment make this book incredibly captivating and hard to put down. That is, it takes about half of the book for the actual haunting to begin which is kind of a drag to get through. The last third of the book is exceptionally good, giving you such a personal view of Eleanor’s deteriorating sanity and the other characters’ gradual exasperation towards her. Nothing is over explained, you really feel Eleanor’s state of being just from what she does and the simplistic thoughts that cross her mind. I love Eleanor as the main character lacking anything to leave Hill House to go back to, susceptible to the influence of the house because of her preexisting instability and desire for a home or something that’s truly hers. Despite her insecurities and rapid mood shifts I found myself feeling the way she felt about the other characters, infuriated at Theo’s selfish and cruel tendencies, and irritated at Luke constantly brushing her  aside. It’s interesting to see the characters’ behaviors change as Eleanor’s perception of them changes and makes is clear that she is manipulating the world around her as she lives the story. The dialogue is interesting, with Mrs. Montague specifically it was amazing and i felt like I was hearing her so clearly as i read her lines, but there was something so off about how the rest of them spoke that I was a little perplexed by, even in the beginning of the novel before a lot of the spooky stuff happened. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but it certainly creates a unique atmosphere. Overall a powerful, psychologically driven ghost story with a setting that becomes its own character. If you’re into lore or answers or unpredictable twists in your horror then you might not love this. If the first half had been condensed and there was a little bit more creativity put into the specific “haunting” incidents that happened i would give it 5 stars easily. 
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