Walking on the Moon

Not only did I recently realize that Shirley Jackson was important, I’ve been on something of a tear through her work. Castle is broadly the story of a haunted house from the perspective of the haunters. Who are still alive. At the very least it tells a story of how that creepy house you grew up afraid of might have become that creepy house without anything supernatural happening at all.

But then again, there might have been some witchery. But no more than knocking wood, but everything is heightened here. It’s another book by Jackson that transports you into a world that’s slightly off, but not in any way that you can put a finger on. That transportation is just a delight, both in experience and seeing aspects of the trick as it happens.

You can interpret it from different angles as well. Characters seem to stand in for aspects of the mind and watching them interact can be like hearing your own inner monologue. And the spooky stuff is all still going on, as is some class struggle and…

So, a rich text.

In addition to all those structural and thematic acrobatics, there are so many individual sentences that made me catch my breath. Just amazing.

A must.

Man, I don’t know how I was unaware of Shirley Jackson until recently, but it does mean I get to be blown away by a great author for the first time later in life.

“The Lottery” has a reputation as a great short story, of which I was unaware, and it’s well earned. It’s evocative, powerful, and deep. In a couple pages it can completely rattle your worldview. Even if someone else has canted your worldview the same direction, it’s still an amazing story.

“The Lottery” comes at the end of a collection of other great short stories that have set a high bar for perfectly crafted stories. The whole time I was reading the collection having been clued in to “The Lottery”‘s reputation and thinking I’d be disappointed because everything up to it was so good. Nope. All great stuff.

Strongly Recommended.