Customer Reviews (6)

Experimental narrative--Did that happen, what happened?Real vs Unreal
This short story is haunting and terrorrific, which itself is captivating beyond anything contemporary that can be written or imagined.

The frightening experiences of this young woman are "normal," banal, routine occurances with the slant of distorted perception.But whose perception is not distorted?The laugh track that follows her father's words is espeically creepy and wonderful.Jackson expertly and originally captured the normalcy of madness and madness of normalcy.

Experimental narratives and character-driven works are often harshly criticized by audiences that prefer to be spoon-fed too many details that sum up and regergitate and leave nothing to be personally experienced and interpreted.It is amazing and delightful that Jackson's work was published at all because most people are not sophisticated enough to do the work of internalizing and processing art.But once you become exposed to this concept and practice the skill, you'll never go back, except for some cheap thrills, Hershey bar entertainment, which is fun, too.

So what happened to this young woman?What was real?What was imagined?Do we ever really know what is real and what is unreal?What is fiction and what is creative non-fiction?These are trick questions:Real is unreal is real as fiction is creative non-ficiton is fiction.Imagination is experience is imagined.Read some Salman Rushdie and try Jackson's work again if you're still unsure.

This novel still haunts me years after reading it.

Left Hanging
Shirley Jackson is a master of enticing readers into a world that is creepy and off-putting while magical at the same time.The premise for "Hangsaman" is immediately intriguing, as it follows a college freshman through her descent into schizophrenia.Yet for all of Jackson's expertise at crafting vividly strange and disturbing worlds, "Hangsaman" falls short because it depends too much on the concept rather than the narrative.

Readers first meet Natalie Waite, a shy introverted seventeen-year-old, while she is about to embark on her first year of college.Her parents have anything but a loving relationship, the family gathering around the dinner table as a formality, with stilted communication.Natalie meets daily with her father to discuss her thoughts and writing.Their relationship is that of teacher to pupil, rather than father to daughter, and readers can clearly see the father trying to press his views and ideas onto his impressionable daughter.Natalie is almost without boundaries in her father's eyes, free to experiment with cigarettes and alcohol, and to play hostess at his various parties.Right before she enters college, something happens to her at one of these parties that drastically affects Natalie, who tries to suppress the fact that 'anything' happened.

Yet while the world sees one Natalie, there is another world going on inside the main character's head.While she is having conversations with other people, imaginary conversations are going on in her mind.In the most frequent one, she is being questioned by a detective about a murder.There is no break beteween the 'real' conversation and Natalie's 'imagined' conversation, which can make reading these passages difficult.As Natalie settles into college life, she finds that she is unliked and alone; the other girls make fun of her.Yet she manages to find one friend, a girl named Tony, who gives her strength; however, readers must figure out if Tony is real, or just a figment of Natalie's fractured mind.

And author Shirley Jackson doesn't necessarily give answers to these questions.While the premise of following a character through a descent into schizophrenia is intriguing, the fact that the lines are blurred for the reader and not just the character makes reading "Hangsaman" confusing.While the novel maintained my interest, I found myself reading it more slowly than others of Jackson's works, and that I needed time away from it to sort out the story before I could read further. "Hangsaman" is still a compelling read, full of Jackson's incredible eye for detail with a setting so evocative that the lines between every world are hard to distinguish.

an uneven account of a college coed's decent into madness
'Hangsaman' is not one of Shirley Jackson's renowned spooky stories.It's a very personal, perhaps autobiographical?, account of a young woman who completely loses touch with reality as she endures loneliness and alienation as a freshman in college.Other than having emotionally deficient parents the cause of her despair and madness is not clear.And so despite being well-written and evoking a strong sense of intimacy Ms Jackson left this reader somewhat bewildered and non-plussed with 'Hangsaman'.


Bottom line: a strange yet unaffecting piece by the horror master.For loyal Jackson fans only.

Disturbing and frightening
This was a great book I think about a girl going insane. The small vignettes of reality are intertwined with a seemingly lesbian like nightmare. I wish this author had been more prolific, however she had a lot of problems of her own. Her biography is fantastic and sad.

Puzzeling, troubleing and captivating
[...] I have to admit out front that the reading experience was not totally enjoyable. On the contrary, although the book is very readable I found myself sitting on edge wondering what will happen next. What horrible things are now to happen? You expect the worst.
It is not that anything horrible or sickening does happen. This is not a "horror" book in this sense - the horror is more inside your brain and your uncomfortable feelings. You feel uncomfortable because something wrong is happening and you do not always know how to point it out.
Do you know the feeling you get when you are having a conversation with someone and only after you end the talk you say to yourself that he said or hinted things you should not have tolerated and that you should have reacted differently... or maybe that the message delivered was not what you initially had in mind and then you are very upset at yourself for not crying out and saying this or that...? Well this is my attempt to describe some of the emotions this book has evoked in me.
However, having said this, I think that the uncomfortable feeling is exactly what the writer has tried and succeeded in creating and thus the reading is worthwhile. It is like being in another mind which is both similar and different from your own. So many things are familiar and so many thoughts are thoughts you have thought before; and yet, so many actions and reflections are so totally unusual....so defying .
Natalie, the main character is not someone I like (why? because I cannot understand her; because she upsets me. I kept thinking "Can't you see this is dangerous; why aren't you more careful of the other girls... " ). However, she seems so troubled you do not want anything bad to happen to her. You also share Natalie's confusion - the theme of "did THIS happen or not" and "am I really here" is very strong throughout the book and the reader is a true participant in this sense. You are not sure if the things described did happen or not? If the characters did exist (the girl Tony - is she real or is she an imaginative friend? A close soul mate everyone wishes for, someone who can read your brain, even the hideous things in your mind ) and what are their motives? You can only guess. And maybe nothing really happened? The terror is really subdued and is sometimes conveyed in seemingly innocent (women) conversations. These polite dialogues can be very cruel and someone is sure to be stabbed in the back.
I despised Natalie's father. This person sees everything as a life experience you must endure in order to grow up and be a "better person/writer/critic" and thus although he can see Natalie has problems in college his only words are that this is a good experience for her. He has no empathy. He is a person which is so self centered he has no time for sympathy / real emotions or real communication. I think that he sees Natalie as his creation and this self centered feeling he confuses with love.I see the father as the true villain of this book and I blame him for most of the bad things Natalie has to endure.
Natalie is alone in the world (at least this is how she feels).
I am tempted to write "aren't we all... " - we all spend our lives in trying not to be and this is why Hangsaman is such a troubling story.
Bottom line of this depressing review is that I do reccomend the book. Its a book that stays with you. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

I Agree With The Other Reviews But I Have A Little To Add
I think my review will be appreciated the most by readers of Shirley Jacksons other works. First, the inside flap and the back cover are very misleading (although the inside flap does give a hint of what's to come, it makes it sound like it is something that happens early on). Both the inside flap and back cover also suggest that the book is somehow about the supernatural; it is NOT. This is summer vacation in suburbia with all it's dramas and tribulations; its ups and downs and percolating gossip. There's also an unusually large number of characters in what is only a 220 page book (I counted 35); mostly families on Pepper Street including parents and kids. I could relate to this book because even though it takes place in the 1930's I could translate that into the time of my childhood; a time without cell phones, PC's and Macs, MP3 players, satellite radio, and plasma TVs. It really did remind me of my time growing up and the summer vacations I had. Only this book adds a huge helping of tragedy. Overall I enjoyed it and I was a little surprised at the ending (which I think will seem familar to you if you've read two of Ms. Jackson's most famous stories). I have to recommend it, even though if your'e looking for something a little more supernatural or scary by Shirley Jackson, read The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery, or Come Along With Me.

Not Jackson's best, perhaps
I enjoyed The Road Through the Wall it for it's compelling writing, just as I always enjoy Jackson's work, but as with about fifty percent of her stories and novels, I reach the end of the story convinced that I missed something that would have made the story much more significant. This book mostly paints a bleak picture of suburbia which was rather difficult for me to follow as it had a multitude of characters with generic names that all seemed similar to me. By the end of the book, I was convinced that the characters were intentionally keeping me in the dark, and that they were switching generic nametags behind my back to make things even more confusing. Read Jackson's horror or anecdotal humor instead.

a well-written critique on suburban alienation..
"Road Through the Wall" is Shirley Jackson's first novel, and as first novels go it has surprisingly good qualities.The prose and characterizations are uniformly excellent.By stealth she decomposes the boredom, loneliness, and suffocating nature of American suburban life.No, this doesn't contain any of the gothic horror goodies found in her later works.And the ending seems a bit disjointed from the overall story.Yet written over fifty years ago, "Road Through the Wall" seems anything but dated.

For a bit more about the story, it is actually a pastiche of daily events surrounding one neighborhood ... specifically one street.The dialogue and behavior of the children are realistically cruel.The parents are portrayed as being status seekers and gossip-mongers.Their insular world is shattered, symbolically and literally, when a new road is built which barrels through their enclave.


Bottom line: a subtle and deceptively intricate novel.Recommended.

A chilling masterpiece
Shirley Jackson is often described as a "Horror" writer; however, her power comes not from horrible bloody descriptions but rather from very down tuned, indifferent, every-day descriptions to the most vicious acts. Her descriptions are so mellowed that I felt confused and checked myself over and again to see if I understood correctly and something bad really did happen.
This is a story of one street and its inhabitants, but could have easily been any other street in any suburb. In fact, Shirley Jackson herself said that the book was written, at least partly, to get back at her parents, so some of it has to be a life she knew. I believe I am right to guess that the character of Harriet Merriam, a girl in her adolescent years, who is fat and not pretty, has many "bits and pieces" of Shirley Jackson herself, especially in the first pages where Harriet's mother goes through her letters. This act, which according to biographers happened to Shirley herself, is mentioned in "Hangsaman" another of Jackson's first books.
The story takes time getting into, the reason being that there are so many (around 20) characters and it takes time to differentiate between them. There is actually no character that is really "loveable" - if someone is described as a successful child or adult, then he has other faults. I guess this is exactly like real life where no one is perfect but it is so different from other literary works where even if a hero is imperfect you can have some sympathy towards several characters. Here the reader's sympathy does not exist although some people are more detestable then others. The merciless description of the characters even caused me some uneasiness at first. You can see down to the person's essence - as if you look at his soul with a magnifying glass and this intimate viewing can be quite uncomfortable.
The horrors of this story can mainly be described as the inability of accepting anyone who is different: Jews, Chinese, retarded people. Shirley Jackson gives us a variety of outsiders. The horrors are also the powers of parents, narrow and limited in their world perception to forever change or shape their children world and not for the best. This issue is not new; however has a striking and horrifying appearance in this book.
This is a powerful chilling book which, once you get into it (this takes time), cannot be put down. Shirley Jackson has a great knowledge of human nature which is again apparent in this book
I do wish I had some people around me I could discuss this book with. I was even disappointed to find only one review of this book as I am really interested in hearing how other people have understood or "felt" this book. I have studied Shirley Jackson's famous short story "the Lottery" at the university and am longing to analyze this book in the same way....I feel there is so much more to this book then what I was able to grasp and so many other nuances connected to the symbolism of the new road, the different family lives portrayed and the relationship and similarities between woman to woman, mother - daughter, father - son relationships to relationships between the kids themselves. I have to add that some of the elements of "the Lottery" are apparent here. What I mean is the seemingly peaceful, lovely atmosphere and the inner turbulence which becomes apparent through the end, when a victim who was introduced and chosen before is pointed out.
This is a masterpiece I highly recommend.

Jackson's unforgettable first novel
Although The Road Through the Wall was her first published novel, it is vintage Shirley Jackson.No one ever viewed and/or described human beings in the way Jackson did.Not surprisingly, this novel is terribly maudlin and disturbing.It is also very complex, and I'm not sure I would perfectly understand it had I read it over and over again.There are no heroes in these pages and only one innocent character.The premise of the story is fairly simple: Jackson paints a portrait of a well-to-do middle class neighborhood, shining her blinding light of truth on everyone.The portrait is not a pretty one.A wall separates the community from the well-to-do section of town, a section most of the men and women hope to eventually move to; in the meantime, they are terribly snobbish to those around them--quietly and secretly or brazenly and openly depending on how poor or ill-bred the inferior citizens are seen to be.Eventually, a section of the wall is removed in order to make way for a new road, a road that will expose their isolated community to the world and basically ruin their neighborhood, community, and lives.Well before the road is built, terrible tragedy does indeed strike at the heart of the community.I was quite shocked by the turn of events toward the end.

Some of Jackson's plot points really make little sense to me.While it often seems that Jackson intends to introduce such confusing elements into her fiction, I find it very likely that I am just not understanding the immense subtleties and hidden clues of a masterful writer.This novel is especially hard to comprehend.The cast of characters is quite large, consisting of a number of families.Jackson constantly moves back and forth between the men, women, and children, which makes it hard to really "know" each character.The task of keeping track of who is who is made even more difficult by the fact that many of the girls' names all start with H and that two of the boys have the same initials.There came a point when I just had to stop flipping back through the story trying to exactly remember each character in turn.Perhaps it was a deliberate tactic by Jackson to indicate that all of the characters are basically the same.One family surprisingly moves away right in the middle of the book, much to my surprise, and the family that moves into their rental home seems far less important that the book's back cover led me to expect.The reader should take nothing for granted when reading Shirley Jackson.

All in all, this is a wonderful if idiosyncratic read.The plot is amazingly complex for an author's first published novel.I wish I could talk about the ending, if for no other reason than to pose the questions I have about it.Once you permit yourself to enter Shirley Jackson mode, you may well be lured into a level of comfort, expecting the novel to simply end without any climax or conclusion.I can pretty much assure you that the conclusion is one you will not soon forget. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Buy it- it's Shirley
I love Shirley Jackson and have made it a point to collect everything she has written.I find her work to be engrossing and beautifully written.This collection shares some of her excellent non-fiction as well. ... Read more

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I am totally exposing myself to my family, and to the world. When I realized I was not alone with my demons I decided to share my fate with others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Especially recommended for fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower
This exceelen thriller is quite possibly my favorite Shirley Jackson novel. My primary motivation for reading it was the fact that the main character, Elizabeth, is a woman with multiple personalities, a disorder that fascinates me. The POV and narrative voice change periodically, with the story sometimes being told in a third person semi-omniscient voice giving Elizabeth's point of view, and sometimes being told through the journals of her doctor, Dr. Wright. I much preferred Dr. Wright's journals to the turmoil of Elizabeth's various personalities, some of which were very unstable and prone ot confusing if interesting flashbacks. The Doctor, by contrast, was much more linear and easier to follow, and Jackson gives him a delightful voice to read. I liked the book overall, especially the ending, which pleasantly surprised me. The way that Dr. Wright reacted to the individual personalities and the way that each of the personalities was given such a distinctive voice really made the book for me. Also of note: I know that Stephen King was a huge fan of Jackson's and I am positive that this is the book that inspired his character Susannah Dean (aka Odetta Holmes/Detta Walker) in the Dark Tower series. Highly recommended read, especially for King fans, who will probably enjoy it especially.

All Four in One
Shirley Jackson is perhaps best known for her works of short fiction that manage to weave a mysterious and disturbing spell upon the readers.The writing encompassed in her early novels is no different."The Bird's Nest" follows the trail of a young girl whose personality splits into four separate and distinct personalities, a process that readers are able to see from various viewpoints throughout the course of the novel.

Elizabeth Richmond, a 23-year-old museum employee, leads a quiet life.Both of her parents are deceased and she lives with her Aunt Morgen, both of them made comfortable by Elizabeth's inheritance.When Elizabeth keeps experiencing headaches and begins exhibiting abnormal behaviors, she is sent to Dr. Wright.It is while she is under his care that Dr. Wright diagnoses that Elizabeth is suffering from a multiple personality disorder and together they discover the four distinct personalities that reside within her; Elizabeth, Beth, Betsy, and Bess.It is Dr. Wright's job to try to discover the source of Elizabeth's break with reality while battling the two strongest personalities determined to take over completely; for while these two personalities try to destroy the other, they only wind up hurting themselves.It is only when Dr. Wright and Aunt Morgen join forces that Elizabeth is able to make a breakthrough and fight back to become a whole person instead of a fractured one.

This may sound somewhat confusing, but because Jackson offers readers insight into not only Elizabeth's mind, but into that of her doctor and aunt, the storyline progresses at a quick pace.Because the personalities are named, there is an easier track to follow than in Jackson's similarly themed novel "Hangsaman"."The Bird's Nest" is based upon an actual case of multiple personality disorder and Shirley Jackson emdows her narrative with her characteristic mood of dis-ease that turns a confusing nest of characters into a compelling examination of the workings of the inner mind.

Shirley Jackson Advanced
My favorite Shirley Jackson book has always been "We have always lived in the Castle". However, although "The Bird's nest" was only Shirley Jackson's third novel, it is, so I feel, "Shirley Jackson - advanced course". This is an elaborate story which incorporates all classic Jackson fingerprints and yet involved a research and a unique way of writing. A seemingly "normal" story (at least this is how it starts...) that somehow turns - the moment cannot be precisely captured - into a haunting, creepy tale. This is a book you read and have to keep going back and checking once and again for the hints you seemed to miss in your reading.You understand the words but do not always understand why regular words give you such an uncomfortable feeling. This is by the way is a feeling which is very familiar to Jackson's readers. Also, the overall sense is that a secret clouds the whole story and that if you would have paid more attention and read more attentively, maybe you could have figured this one out, as Jackson always seems to leave hints along the way.The body of Miss R., a niece to Aunt Morgen and a patient of Dr. Wright (the two other main characters of the story) is a "bird's nest " to four conflicting characters, each one a different person with a different character, and even different facial expressions (the Dr. can tell who is standing in front of him even before she speaks). All these four personalities are fighting for dominance over the "awareness" of the young girl. The story is told in a way I never met in Jackson's books, where each chapter presents the story from a different angel, although only Doctor Wright speaks in his own narrative voice. The other chapters present one main character but from a side look.
The battle is always, as with Shirley Jackson, with one's mind, a subject that interested her immensely. Like Natalie from "Hangsaman" who imagines/befriends the "girl Tony" (and the reader keeps asking himself if she is true or just fictitious), and like "The haunting of hill house" where we learn, maybe too late, that the real battle is what goes inside the mind of the heroine, in the "Bird's nest", the battle is over the mind of Elizabeth R.
It is the goal of Dr. Wright (and the reader) to understand the source of this personality split. Interesting to note that this battle or conflict is, according to the famous psychologist Erik Erikson, the crisis appropriate to the age of young adulthood. Erikson describes this crisis as "Intimacy vs. Isolation" and declares that the most important events of this stage are love relationships. You are not developmentally complete until you are capable of intimacy, but an individual who has not developed a sense of identity usually will fear a committed relationship and may retreat into isolation.
A split of one person and the constant battle between being complete or separate, close or withdrawn is thus a recurrent motif in Shirley Jackson (Constance the homey and Merricat the bold in "We have always lived in the castle", Natalie and the girl Tony, etc.). In the "Bird's nest" however Jackson seems to have taken this issue one step further. She was fascinated with the subject of multiple personalities and therefore has made a serious research before writing this book. Her research has convinced her for example that a multiple personalities case needed to have an act of sexual abuse as its cornerstone. She therefore installed the hints of such act with the description of Robin, about which Betsy tells the man in the restaurant.
There are many layers to this story, nothing is ever really clear and the story can be analyzed in many different ways. Also very interesting to understand the story in light of Shirley Jackson's personality and her fascination with the subject, a fascination that her biographers claim to stem from her feeling that she herself had several personalities within.
Basically the story is read as a thriller. You want to read further on as you have to know what will happen next and what personality will gain ownership of Miss R. For me the reading has also been another stage of my learning and admiration of this powerful author.It seems that with every book you get a little closer to further understanding this elaborate mind.

a very competent look at multiple personality disorder...
"The Bird's Nest" is a departure from the usual horror/suspense material pumped out by the late Shirley Jackson.It is a very serious, meticulous examination of a young woman plagued with multiple personalities.The author does a stellar job in telling this story from the perspectives of key individuals: the woman herself, her spinster aunt (with whom she lives), and her psychiatrist.The narrative is taut, the characterizations are fully developed.

However despite all this glowing praise the book lacks ... compassion.There is a complete lack of warmth in all the characters, and I found the psychiatrist to surprisingly cold and the only character lacking in believability; he seemed like someone pulled out of a Charles Dickens novel.Unfortunately the coldness of the characters bled off on to this reader, and towards the end of "The Bird's Nest" I began to lose interest in the plight of our poor suffering leading character.


Bottom line: competent, serious and well written.But perhaps a bit too antiseptic for my taste.

Needs More oomph
There is no doubt of Shirley Jackson's recurring genius and writing style in this book, it had a great initial blow, but it needed more power in the follow-up.Good,smooth, story-line, strong characters, interesting ending.

From Sam Flowe's Internet School Of Writing:

A+ ... Read more

Product Description
Laurie's mother becomes concerned when he returns home each day from kindergarten with stories about a mischievous classmate named Charles. Includes interpretive questions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

"Charles" Review
I think that Shirley Jackson's "Charles" deserves four stars because it is a really chilling story, but funny at the same time.The only reaon I didn't give it the full five stars was because of the way it's written.There are a lot of repeated words and phrases.
Shirley Jackson really captures your attention with her unique writing style.She has you thinking one thing the whole time, but everything turns around in the last sentence.Even this short story reflects Jackson's incredible, chilling style, which you can also find in "We Have Aways Lived in the Castle" and "The Haunting of Hill House."
This story really surprised me.I would recommend "Charles" to anyone who likes funny, surprising, and mysterious stories.

A hilarious book
I gave Charles 5 stars because I enjoyed the story and the things Charles pulled off were very funny and they were bad
just to mention it. He would pull off some things you know and some things you don't. If you're really bored and you need a good story to read, you should get the story Charles by
Shirley Jackson. The main characters just to tell you is Laurie, Charles, and Laurie's parents. Charles is really bad or funny character.

What I wrote about the story Charles
I gave this story 3 stars because of the funny characters and the funny ending. But most of all this is the best story I read in literature class. The thing I didn't like about the story is the
things the secret character did, but find out yourself.

Not knowing
I gave this book a 4 star because it was a good book, but it wasn't the best book I've read.It was full of clues and some parts were very funny!I think you should read it if you like to read about a kid getting in trouble!If you want to see how he gets in trouble, read it for yourself!

HILARIOUS
I give Charles a 5 star because it's hilarious. For people who haven't read itshould read it because it is funny. This book is for a family to enjoy. When you ever go to a book store go find this and get it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Starting Block
Originally published in 1975, just ten years after Shirley Jackson's death, Lenemaja Friedman's analysis of the author's life and works is a good starting place.However, since many of Shirley Jackson's short stories remained unpublished until the late 1990s, there is much more that needs to be said about her work.

Friedman begins with a basic overview of the author's life.This biographical sketch does not go into great detail but provides some important information about Shirley Jackson.The majority of the text is criticism and analysis of the major short stories that had been published at the time and of Jackson's six novels and her two collections of family chronicles.Friedman does a commendable job with the section dealing with the short stories, analyzing the themes and motifs such as ghosts and evil that Jackson explored in her writing.She dedicates a whole chapter to Jackson's first novel, "The Road Through the Wall," and the next chapter to the two psychological novels that followed.One of the best sections is her chapter on setting within Jackson's novels, "The Sundial," "The Haunting of Hill House" and "We Have Always Lived in the Castle."

For anyone looking for a brief overview of Jackson and perhaps her best known works, Friedman's criticism is a good place to start.It offers insight and thought-provoking analysis into the themes that Jackson wove throughout her writing.Friedman ably shows the paradox that existed within the author and within her work.She wraps it up with a look at Jackson's family chronicles and an overview of how Jackson approached her craft."Shirley Jackson" by Lenemaja Friedman is a good starting block but far from comprehensive. ... Read more

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Argues that Jackson anticipated the transition from modernism to postmodernism and should be ranked among the most significant writers of her time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Best Book on Jackson
This book argues that Jackson deserves to be ranked with the best writers of her time. To make that argument, it analyzes Jackson's fiction on three fronts. It discusses her writing in the context of American literary history; it elucidates Jackson's use of techniques from a variety of styles, such as Gothic and comic; and it explains her themes, such as politics and psychology. For example, it shows the previously overlooked politics of The Sundial, and it analyzes the psychological theories Jackson used in The Birds' Nest.

But this is a book of academic literary criticism for academics. So if you aren't an academic, only the chapter about her life will be readily comprehensible. You won't understand the rest of it any better than you would a medical book for doctors if you aren't a doctor, a law book for lawyers if you aren't a lawyer, or a chemistry book for chemists if you aren't a chemist.

If you are a student, this book will be challenge. You can use this book to learn the most commonly understood theories as they are applied in your profession. Moreover, it contains more definitions of those theories than you'll find in most lit crit. Since it is clear to your mentors, it will probably be only moderately difficult for you if you have the potential to get a PhD and publish in scholarly venues.

But if, like Jillian Beifuss, you haven't succeeded as a grad student in lit, this book is beyond you. ["His interpretations are limited and over determined..."] All lit crit is limited. It's called narrowing the topic. And "overdetermined" is an asset because it means multi-causal.["...he completely pathologizes the admittedly troubled Jackson...,"] "Completely" is an absolute term. Completely pathologizing a person is impossible. ["...he seems to have no sense of humor."] It "seems" that way to Beifuss because she's witless. ["Moreover, Hattenhauer's style is so jargon-ridden it almost comes across as a parody."] If Beifuss had gotten very far as a grad students, she would know that this book has far less "jargon" than does most lit crit. ["I look forward to a better book about this wonderful writer."] That's a book Beifuss could never write.

The blather by Jonathan Edwards exemplifies the problems you'll have if don't know **** from Shinola. ["I never knew that her stories were `heteroglossic! WTF does that mean? He never defines."] That's because it's obvious to literary critics. ["I doubt that word is even in the complete Oxford English Dictionary!"] Of course it is. And it's in any online dictionary. Google it. You get 200,000 hits. Look it up and learn something instead of criticizing people who know a million times more than you do. ["I doubt even Miss Jackson knew that she was writing `heteroglossic` literature."] Since her husband and their best friend, Kenneth Burke, were top literary critics, she might have known the term, but it doesn't matter because people can be lots of thinks without knowing it. ["Did you know that she was also a `proto-postmodernist?' Neither did I, in all the years I've been reading her."] Obviously there are a lot of things John doesn't know. Ideas exist whether or not he knows about them. ["I doubt that she did either."] As any expert can tell you, John Barth invented the term after she died, but it applies to lots of people who died before hearing about it.["I don't think that Miss Jackson would have had the patience to put up with such non-sensical ivory tower 'litera-babble'..."] Her husband and Burke specialized in "non-sensical ivory tower 'litera-babble'...,"although they wouldn't commit two hyphen faults in four words. What Shirley couldn't stand waspeople who are so ignorant that they are ignorant of their ignorance.["...(Congratulations! You just made up a highfalutin' sounding word..."] Edwards just made up a highfalutin word, "litera-babble," and then put an apostrophe after "highfalutin" as if it`s a contraction for "highfaluting." ["...to impress your friends and confound your students--..."] Real students want to learn about these things; they don't complain about erudition. Lightiris uses it with high school students.["...you are now qualified to teach in an institution of higher learning!)..."] Apparently named in honor of the famous bathroom fixture,John knows as much about higher ed as he does lit crit. ["...such as "interpellation by delineation"; "metonymic displacement"; "feminist discourse theory"; "heteroglossic multivocality."]Critics have used those terms for decades. They are as common to them as "bryophyte" and "blastulation" are to biologists. ["Funny how english teachers can't even write in english!" [No caps on "English"? Funny how witch doctors don't know about x-rays.

["The ironic thing about this book is that SJ was known for her clear, lucid prose...."]She wrote fiction. He writes non-fiction. Some great fiction seems clear even to ignorant readers, but they still don't understand what they're reading, so they don't know what they're talking about. Lit crit is clear to literary critics, but not to illiterates. ["He ought to go back and re-read Miss Jackson's `Notes to a Young Writer!'"] He is far above the level of a beginner.

But John is far below it. In eleven of his clauses, the grammatical subject is "I." That means he is writing about himself, not the book. He's just reporting on the state of his glands. In his 228 words, he uses an exclamation mark eight times. You can't prop up weak sentences with exclamation marks. And exclamation marks go outside quotation marks. In addition, "Miss" is anachronistic. "Ms." has been the preferred usage for decades. Moreover, he uses semicolons where he should use commas--three times.

A Major Disappointment
A full-length analysis of Jackson's subtle, disturbing fiction is long overdue. Hattenhauer's book, unfortunately, is a major disappointment. His interpretations are limited and overdetermined, he completely pathologizes the admittedly troubled Jackson, and (perhaps most alarming, given Jackson's fierce, dark wit) he seems to have no sense of humor. Moreover, Hattenhauer's style is so jargon-ridden it almost comes across as a parody. (And yes, I do understand and support the idea that literary criticism, like all academic disciplines, needs and deserves its own technical vocabulary; I also understand that books intended for academic audiences need not be "readable" in the same way as books intended for the general public.) I look forward to a better book about this wonderful writer.

CAUTION: Academic Bull**** Ahead!
Based on the three positive reviews for this book, I went ahead and ordered it expecting a useful companion guide to the work of Shirley Jackson. Boy, was I in for a surprise! What a waste of 24 bucks! I knew that SJ's work was and is grossly underrated--in that I agree with Mr. Hattenhauer; but I never knew that her stories were "heteroglossic!" WTF does that mean? He never defines. I doubt that word is even in the complete Oxford English Dictionary! I doubt even Miss Jackson knew that she was writing "heteroglossic" literature. Did you know that she was also a "proto-postmodernist?" Neither did I, in all the years I've been reading her. I doubt that she did either. I don't think that Miss Jackson would have had the patience to put up with such non-sensical ivory tower "litera-babble" (Congratulations! You just made up a highfalutin' sounding word to impress your friends and confound your students--you are now qualified to teach in an institution of higher learning!) such as "interpellation by delineation"; "metonymic displacement"; "feminist discourse theory"; "heteroglossic multivocality." Funny how english teachers can't even write in english!

The ironic thing about this book is that SJ was known for her clear, lucid prose--the complete opposite of Mr. Hattenhauer's idea of writing. He ought to go back and re-read Miss Jackson's "Notes to a Young Writer!"

Hattenhauer is Genius
I was fortunate to study under Hattenhauer in an analysis of post modern literature.

He's genius.I will never read or see The Haunting of Hill House without sensing the understory.

Brilliant work, Daryl!

Insightful Analysis
Hattenhauer's reading of Jackson's work is illuminating and persuasive.As a high school English teacher, I have used Hattenhauer's analysis of The Haunting of Hill House to help students identify and understand Jackson's use of unreliable narration. This survey is highly recommended for anyone interested in Jackson's body of work, which never ceases to surprise and challenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY CARRIES ON...
This story revolves around a family that has sustained a major tragedy. Apparently, most of the family was murdered at supper one day via the introduction of arsenic into their food. Only three family members survive, sisters Constance and Mary Catherine Blackwood, and their elderly Uncle Julian. Constance, who always cooked for her family, was charged with their murder but aquitted at trial. The surviving three Blackwoods now live in splendid isolation in their mansion, as they are reviled by the villagers.

Mary Catherine, the younger sister known affectionately as Merricat, is a strange girl. Bright, imaginative, and compulsive, she has an assortment of rituals that she carries out in her daily activities, which are somewhat limited. She rarely ventures beyond the curtilage of her stately home, except for trepidaciously entering the village to get necessary supplies. Her sister Catherine, however, never ventures beyond the immediate perimeter of her home, though this is clearly something that she wishes to do. Uncle Julian is an invalid, living out his remaining days trying to figure out the mystery behind what had happened to his family that caused them all to be poisoned.

They are truly alone, except for the rare visitors who knew their family prior to the tragedy that took place. Even these few visits are almost too much for them. Still, Constance does her best to entertain them, although Merricat clearly wishes they would not come. Their highly structured world, however, is slowly torn apart, when Charles, a cousin, comes to visit them. He inveigles and tantalizes Constance with visions of having a normal life. Needless to say, Merricat and Charles do not get along, as she perceives him to be the enemy, seeking to disrupt her orderly, though dysfunctional, world.

The writing style is spare, taut, and, at times, quite compelling, as well as darkly humourous. Still, what happens to Constance and Merricat is no real surprise. What is problematic is one never really understands what makes Constance tick nor what makes Merricat do what she does. There is no resolution in the book, leaving the reader to fill in the blanks.

While I admit that I am in the minority, as I found this book to be a little disappointing, I do I find it hard to believe that Time magazine, at one time, had named it one of the ten best novels of the year. While this a moderately enjoyable work, readers would do better to seek out Ms. Jackson's dazzling story, "The Lottery", a much better, and more satisfying, book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a useful source for locating secondary materials pertaining to Shirley Jackson and her work. It includes both reviews from the time of publication and critical works. The annotations and introduction contribute to Jackson scholarship by arguing that some of her fiction has been misread and mislabelled due to the perceived meaning of the signifier "Shirley Jackson". No previously published study catalogues the texts which include stories by Jackson. The volume includes a list of anthologies, and the comments editors make about the stories and Jackson herself, a section on Jackson's work in textbooks, and a section on adaptations of her work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

shirley jackson: a study in short fiction
Studies in Short Fiction Series - Shirley Jackson - this book was very informational

WONDERFUL!!!
When I was writing my dissertation on Jackson and another author I found this book absolutely indispensible.I was completely inspired by Hall's work; the book gave me strength to finish my own study.Thank YOU!! ... Read more

Product Description
Shirley Ann Jackson sees the unseen. She’s an expert in the invisible particles that make up everything in the universe, including you. Shirley is a theoretical physicist, a scientist who studies the subatomic world using only paper, pencils, computers, and the most important tool of all: her imagination.

Shirley’s passion for science blossomed during her childhood, with bumblebee experiments and go-cart races. But it’s her talent for math and her drive to succeed that have taken her career in amazing directions. Shirley uses her knowledge of electrons, neutrinos, and other particles of matter to better the lives of others—from solving important technology problems to teaching college physics to making nuclear power plants safer. A natural-born leader, Shirley has always seized opportunities and broken down racial barriers, not only for herself but for others.

Strong Force is the compelling story of an African American scientist and her science. To tell this true story of adventure, author Diane O’Connell drew on firsthand accounts from Shirley and her friends, family, and colleagues. How did a young bee collector grow up to be a world-renowned physicist? The life story of Shirley Ann Jackson will intrigue and inspire readers of all ages. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more