A review by batrick_pateman
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The worst stories of this collection are pretty good; the in-between ones are very good; the best (The Daemon Lover, Like Mother Used To Make, The Witch, The Renegade, Flower Garden, The Tooth, and of course The Lottery) are brilliant and some of Jackson's best work. Her ability to draw menace out of everyday domestic life and suggest worlds of repressed resentment and discontentment with just a few words is on full display here. I loved the organization of the stories and the way each epigraph hints at overarching themes for each section. Overall, a book full of really fun, eerie little short stories.