Friday, August 27, 2010

Shirley Jackson in the Library of America

Book Review - Shirley Jackson - Novels and Stories - NYTimes.com: "The very welcome Library of America edition of Jackson’s work, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, contains, in addition to “Hill House,” 46 of her short stories, another novel — her last, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” — and an essay on the furious reactions to the magazine publication of her peerlessly disturbing 1948 tale “The Lottery.” Although few of the narratives collected here are as terrifying as “Hill House” or as shocking as “The Lottery” (which is about an exceptionally nasty small-town ritual), there’s precious little comfort in any of them."

9 comments:

Todd Mason said...

Now for the Fritz Leiber volume...and the Robert Bloch...and the Joanna Russ...and the Ross Macdonald...and the John MacDonald...I'll have to check to see if even such more likely candidates as Robert Benchley or Donald Barthelme or Peter De Vries have volumes. I won't be suprised to discover not.

Todd Mason said...

Or even surprised.

Todd Mason said...

This is also interesting in that it's Rafferty's least foolish horror review so far, that I've read.

Anonymous said...

I've read all of her stories and a few of the novels. Good choice. For those who only know her "horror" writing, check out Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons, about her kids.

Jeff

George said...

It won't surprise you to learn that I own this wonderful volume.

mybillcrider said...

It would surprise me if you didn't own it.

Elizabeth Foxwell said...

You can listen to Jackson's "The Summer People," performed by Rene Auberjonois, here:
http://www.kpbx.org/rss/podcast.php?feed=selectedshorts

Scott Cupp said...

Nor will it surprise you that I owen this volume also. Got it on Wednesday.

mybillcrider said...

Yep, it figures.