What a delightfully creepy book! The book is narrated by our protagonist, Mary Katherine Blackwood, who opens the book with the statement that everyone in her family but herself and her sister Constance is dead. That's no fun. Mary Katherine also remarks on some library books sitting on a shelf: "I wondered whether I would have chosen differently if I had known that these were the last books, the ones which would stand forever on our kitchen shelf." What?? What has happened? Mary Katherine will tell you.
The story jumps back five months to explain just how those ended up being the last books, and also why the Blackwoods are nearly all dead, and there's some good story in between those two stories and it's all just wonderful. I don't want to say anything else lest I spoil this short, entertaining book!
Suffice it to say that even when I had the story figured out, or thought I did, Jackson managed to keep me on my toes, and everything in the story just has this strange, creepy vibe to it that makes you wonder just what is really going on in this house. I'm going to have to find some more Shirley Jackson stories, stat!
Rating: 9/10
(RIP Challenge)
See also:
BooksPlease
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
things mean a lot
books i done read
A Striped Armchair
Pass me yours, if you've got 'em.
2 comments:
Yay! You liked it! Definitely read some of her short stories; I recommend The Lottery and Other Short Stories (http://ow.ly/oYt1) and The Haunting of Hill House (http://ow.ly/oYu9). They both scared the crap out of me, in a delightfully creepy, psychological way.
I read this one last year and LOVED it! Everything I've read by Shirley Jackson is amazing - I'm with Cory on this one, you should definitely check out more of her stuff :)
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