The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics) by Shirley Jackson
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Book Reviews of The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: A Ghastly Vintage
Summary: 3 Stars
First let me begin by saying that I love the imagination behind Jackson's tales...and that I revere The Lottery in particular. I'm also a great fan of 'classic' horror/suspense/ghost tales of the LeFanu, Bierce, James and Hawthorne variety...so I think I bring a fair turn of mind to this book. She was a trailblazer, writing and publishing fantasy--as mainstream fiction--long before most readers even knew it as a genre.
And for fun, I read The Haunting of Hill House in one sitting, after midnight.
It's a classic, but this tale, unfortunately, shows its age. The writing itself, and in particular the characters' speech, seems stilted and filled with peculiar social conventions that at best sound dated to the modern ear. The characters themselves seem barely developed or not fully fleshed out, considering the "psychological" nature of the erstwhile horror.
To 21st Century sensibilities, there's nothing frightening, or even the least bit horrific, in Hill House's antics. We are, after all, used to watching "Ghost Hunters" every Wednesday on TV and accept vampires as block-buster movies without a qualm. Even reading it alone, in a dark room, didn't cause me so much as a palpitation.
Read it anyway, just because it is a classic, and without tales like The Haunting of Hill House, we'd never have got The Exorcist or Rosemary's Baby off the ground.
Book Review: It trudges
Summary: 3 Stars
Reading Hill House was similar to walking through swamp mud. It dragged on and on, each step a huge concentrated effort. Of course there's depth to it. Of course the author was being subtle and clever and all this mountain of other stuff, but that doesn't change that it bored the heck out of me. Before literary snobs preach and call me a mongoloid for critiquing a 'classic', I love books that have something to them. I love it when I walk away from a story with my world shaking at the knees, leaving me to question everything. That just didn't happen in this case. I found the writing style charming at first, especially Eleanor's journey to the house and the descriptions of the nasty little town, and the opening impressions to the characters were nifty, but the charm wore off. I get that the house was driving them mad. I knew what was happening. It wasn't over my head. I just didn't find it exciting (or scary at the least. 'scalp prickling' says the review on the front. Liar). I didn't feel anything for the characters. I didn't care what happened to Eleanor. The only character I worried about was Luke while he was trying to get her unstable little head down from the stairs. I kept wondering if I was reading the wrong book, judging from all the praise.
To put it shortly, check it out in the library to see if its your cup of tea.
Book Review: 3 1/2 stars Love the story, not the writing
Summary: 3 Stars
Shy, depressed Eleanor is pulled out of her ho-hum life by an invitation to spend her summer at a spooky house partaking in ghostly investigations. Joining her in the experiment is lead researcher Dr. Montague, pretty boy and homeowner Luke, and flamboyant and beautiful Theodora. Mysterious happenings and an unreliable narrator leave the reader questioning long after the last page has been turned.
This is my second Shirley Jackson novel and, as with We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Jackson spins a haunting and vividly realized tale that I both love and hate. I find her writing style irritating and her characters unsympathetic and unappealing, but her ability to craft truly terrifying, even if a little predictable, tales is unquestionable. If a reader is like me and really dislikes Jackson's writing style, I recommend pushing through to the end. The writing style may be torturous, but the books are short and the stories worth experiencing at least once.
Book Review: Not what I was expecting...
Summary: 3 Stars
For as long as I can remember, "The Haunting of Hill House" has been regarded as one of the greatest horror novels ever written. I do not agree. It is well written and the premise is perfect, but Jackson fails to deliver the punch that the novel promises. The ending was terrible. The whole reason behind the haunting is never explained, although we are left to assume that the good doctor knew all along. I also purchased the film version, and it, too was a let down. Maybe this novel blazed a trail when it was first published. I know that it has been copied in some form or fashion ever since. Many writers and directors praise this novel and film, and credit one or the other with shaping his or her career, but I didn't see what the fuss was all about.Book Review: The Movie is Better Than the Book
Summary: 3 Stars
Numbering the the 1963 film adaptation (The Haunting) of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" among my favorites, I finally read the book. Although a short novel at 246 pages, the book is tedious and slow, weighed down by dialogue and one character's interior reflections, instead of even a modicum of action.
The movie was a faithful adaptation of the book. Reading the novel did not add anything for me. I think women are more likely to like this novel; men need a little more action. If you want to read an absolutely great horror story, try Peter Straub's, Ghost Story. I have met with no success in finding a horror story better than Ghost Story.