Paperback, 320 pages
English language
Published 2000 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
The Lottery, one of the most terrifying stories written in this century, created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker. "Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery:" with twenty-four equally unusual stories. Together they demonstrate Jack son's remarkable range--from the hilarious to the truly horrible--and power as a storyteller. (back cover)
I only read the story the title story The lottery which was recommended to me by someone I can't remember who recently, and I'm sorry it just didn't catch my fancy cuz as a form of population control it's not exactly my cup of tea.
From what I gathered from this, Shirley Jackson is very much focussed on the perceived "normal" and it's concequences, often highlighting the oddity of social rules once they are challenged. The stories are a bit hit or miss for me, probably based on what I can relate to and what I can't. At the same time, the mundane nature of most of the stories did in places feel quite dull to me. As a collection of stories this work quite effectively creates a sense of hightend uneasyness, almost anxiety. With every new story I found myself more and more wary of the worlds they are set in. In that regard, having The Lottery be the final story of the whole is quite genius, spelling out directly what the other stories generally only hint at.
At the end I am torn, I don't know if I am bored or fascinated.
