Title The Lottery and Other Stories
Author Shirley Jackson
Genre Horror, Short Stories
Format Kindle Edition
Page Length 2016 pages
Publication Date Jan 1949
Publisher Penguin
Read Date Aug 2023
Synopsis
This is the definitive collection of Shirley Jackson’s short stories, including ‘The Lottery’ – one of the most terrifying and iconic stories of the twentieth century, and an influence on writers such as Neil Gaiman and Stephen King.
In these stories an excellent host finds himself turned out of home by his own guests; a woman spends her wedding day frantically searching for her husband-to-be; and in Shirley Jackson’s best-known story, a small farming village comes together for a terrible annual ritual. The creeping unease of lives squandered and the bloody glee of lives lost is chillingly captured in these tales of wasted potential and casual cruelty by a master of the short story.
Before picking this up, I had read Jackson’s stories The Lottery and The Witch. I really wanted to read more of her stuff and it took me forever to get around to picking up this collection. I loved it. I am blown away by how great these stories are. Everyone knows The Lottery, and yes, it is great, but it’s a shame the other stories in this collection often go overlooked, because they are all top quality elite short storytelling.
There is a theme that runs through this collection: The mundanity of everyday life and how that leads to conformity and flights of fantasy. We see characters go along with social norms and customs, even when such are egregious deviations from humanity. Some characters begrudgingly conform by living the lives expected of them, occasionally seizing an opportunity to live a lie in desperation of experiencing something different, even if only for a few big moments. Some characters are prone to thoughts of Le Fantastic. Some are driven to madness. Every character, desperate for variety, desperate to break an uneventful life of routine and boredom.
These stories are littered with characters we all know in everyday life, engaging in conversations and actions we all know very well, but it’s done with a tongue in the cheek and a scathing criticism on small town life and the gossip and keeping-up-with-the-jones’ that infest it.
Most of these are stories that don’t rely on heavy spectacle or gimmicks, and explore relatively contemporary, everyday life, and yet they remain gripping and engaging. This is due to Jackson’s uncanny ability to create a sense of unease and intrigue.
Ultimately, these are all horror stories, but they are a quiet horror. Jackson uses a lot of dramatic irony to create tension from the reader’s unsettling knowledge that characters may not be genuine in what they say or do. We as the reader are left trying to figure out everyone’s intentions, and then have just enough space to smirk in judgement once it becomes apparent what that is.
There are some writers that when I read their work, not only do I find it enjoyable, but I find it inspiring. They make me want to write better. Rebecca Gransden, Neil Gaiman, Seanan McGuire, and now we can add Shirley Jackson to that list. I am, in no way whatsoever, claiming to be as good a storyteller as Jackson, but I am interested in exploring similar themes to hers in my own work.
Anyway, I’m off to gossip about what he said and what she did and how I would never. Until next time, peace and love!
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