The Lottery and Other Stories (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Don't expect these short stories to be strong on plot. That isn't what they're about. They do, however offer the reader a disturbing perspective into the lives of single, lonely people in a land of rented accommodation, young married women who are not quite at ease with their circumstances and individuals out of synch with society, who seem to grow increasingly alienated as each story progresses. Shirley Jackson's writing is beautifully crafted and she is a master when it comes to incorporating tension and unease into the narrative. Her skill lies in her ability to penetrate the minds and thought processes of her characters, their motives, prejudices and insecurities. Yes, "The Lottery" is one of the more terrifying tales of this collection, but "The Flower Garden", although more mundane, has its own unique horror. These tales inhabit a world where the commonplace ever threatens to take on a nightmare reality. Uncanny!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Many people are familiar with the story "The Lottery," but it is just one of many incredible vignettes of life filling this collection. It is hard to understand today why "The Lottery" originally provoked such a strong reaction, yet it still packs a punch for first-time readers. While it does have aspects of horror, the remaining stories are basically literary. "Flower Garden" and "After You, My Dear Alphonse" deal with racism and would seem to be pretty bold statements for the time period (the book was published in 1948); the latter story seems particularly groundbreaking because of the unusual perspective it provides. "Charles" is a humorous yet illuminating look at the behavior of children, while "Afternoon in Linen" is an important statement on why children sometimes behave as they do. Jackson is at her best when describing the disenchanted adult. The helplessness of women is an important theme in many stories; many of the women described here feel helpless and subservient to their husbands, their neighbors, and their community. "Elizabeth" is a fairly long study of how one woman's wishes and dreams remain unfulfilled in later life. The housewife in "Got a Letter From Jimmy" is thoroughly exasperated by her husband's feelings, and since she cannot speak her mind to him, she is forced to fantasize about killing him. In "The Villager" a woman spontaneously chooses to become someone else entirely for a few minutes, and most of Jackson's heroines spend much time contemplating what could have been. In "Of Course," the fact that a new family has a few unorthodox views builds an unbreachable wall between brand-new neighbors. The women in these stories are always wondering what other people think about them and worrying about what others will say about them. Even when a group of women try to do something good to help the less fortunate, it backfires on them in "Come Dance With Me in Ireland." When a female character vacations with her husband in New York in "Pillar of Salt," she soon becomes "lost," afraid, and desperate to return home. "Colloquy" is the shortest story in the collection, but its protagonist speaks for most of Jackson's female characters when she asks whether she alone or the whole world has gone insane.
My favorite story here is "The Daemon Lover." Herein, Jackson offers one of the most poignant, touching looks at loneliness, desperation, and fragility I have ever read. In the story, we spend a day with the protagonist as she prepares for her wedding, having become engaged just the night before to a James Harris. It is a depressing yet beautiful story, and I actually rate it higher than "The Lottery." The character of James Harris actually flitters throughout several of these stories, a phantom of sorts haunting several of Jackson's more memorable female characters.
Jackson deals with very serious subjects, and the illumination provided by her unusual perspectives on life is vivid and poignant. When addressing racism, she shows how even an individual with the best of intentions and good will can still represent an unfortunate racist attitude. In speaking to morality and social values, she shows how hard it can be for an individual to go against tradition and the community to do what is right. She offers powerful insights on child (and adult) psychology. Even the couple of stories I did not really "get" offered insight into the living of life. Readers should not expect a book of horror stories when they pick up this book. The stories can be maudlin and even depressing, but they are philosophical, psychological, and sociological rather than creepy or spooky.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Lottery is one of 25 contemporary American short stories from the 1940's printed in this volume. When first published in The New Yorker, the story surprised both the author and the magazine's staff by causing shock and outrage. Subscriptions were cancelled, apologies demanded, and even Shirley Jackson's parents expressed the wish that she should write something more wholesome. The shock arose from a barbaric ancient practice being given a contemporary setting. With time, the outrage subsided, but throughout the rest of her life Shirley Jackson continued to receive requests for an explanation of what the story was about. It is to be hoped that she also received many letters of appreciation of the way in which she builds the story. Of the 3,377 words, none are spare, none lacking, and scarcely any are out of place; and it seems unlikely that many readers over the years will have done other than devour them all at a single sitting.
Of the rest of the collection, some stories are more memorable than others. `My Life with R H Macy', `Flower Garden' and `Dorothy and my Grandmother and the Sailors' are among my favourites, but all are worth reading - even studying, by those concerned with style and the construction of short stories. All are set in 1940's America, mostly but not entirely New York or New England and, as with The Lottery, the denouement almost invariably comes as at least something of a surprise.
Of the rest of the collection, some stories are more memorable than others. `My Life with R H Macy', `Flower Garden' and `Dorothy and my Grandmother and the Sailors' are among my favourites, but all are worth reading - even studying, by those concerned with style and the construction of short stories. All are set in 1940's America, mostly but not entirely New York or New England and, as with The Lottery, the denouement almost invariably comes as at least something of a surprise.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very Good Book
Very good, I would say a must read. The story is strange and you can imagine what it would be like to be in the village.
Published 6 months ago by Sarah
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
If you like stories to have no endings then this book is for you. Every short story starts promising, many you get really into and look forward to see how it ends, and then... Read more
Published 12 months ago by AC
I expected more...
I really enjoyed Jackson's novels 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' and 'The House on Haunted Hill' which is why I was surprised I didn't like this one. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Code Hero
Collection of horrible gems
This collection of Shirley Jackson's short stories is a subtle store of tension and under-played drama, absolutely enjoyable in small doses, and rather overwhelming when read... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Patricia Adlam
Breathtakingly good
I happened to notice this book on display in Waterstones and thought it looked intriguing. It's important to read the stories carefully because, although they are powerful and... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 2010 by Sarah A. Brown
Unsettling
My first impression was that the individual stories are a bit hit and miss but the longer you think about them, the more you realise that Shirley Jackson manages to bring out the... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2010 by Petra Bryce
Life's a lottery
`The Lottery and Other Stories' is the third book by Shirley Jackson I have read, following on from `The Haunting of Hill House' and `We Have Always Lived in the Castle , two books... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Weave
Always interesting, with some gems among them
American writer Shirley Jackson wrote in the middle of the last century and was noted for unsettling story lines, and writers such as Donna Tart and Stephen King are reported to... Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by A Common Reader
Illuminating snapshots of life
Many people are familiar with the story "The Lottery," but it is just one of many incredible vignettes of life filling this collection. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2002 by Daniel Jolley
German High-school seniors' reviews of The Lottery
J.E. Gotowos (teacher of EFL, German, and drama): I recently let the students of a senior high-school class I am teaching in Hamburg, Germany, read, discuss, and evaluate Shirley... Read more
Published on 4 May 1999
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