Rating: 
Summary: 'The Lottery' is the worthy centerpiece
Review: The disturbing eeriness of the short story 'The Lottery' has stuck with me since my days of junior high school. Having never been exposed to any of Jackson's other work, I recently picked up _The Lottery and Other Short Stories_ hoping to find more morsels that equalled "The Lottery"s power. Did I find them? Nope - but I didn't find disappointment, either. Jackson's short stories display a variety of themes, from thought-provoking political commentary to childlike whimsicality (and all points in-between). Likewise, some stories are well-developed, while others seem like little more than the skeleton jottings of an author's thoughts. When it's all said and done the stories provide worthwhile reading, but some are far more satisfying than others. "The Lottery" stands head and shoulders above the rest as the jewelled crownpiece; save it for last. It will stick with you like few stories you'll ever be priveleged to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous tales with a twist
Review: I first read "The Lottery" in high school and it has stayed with me ever since. I bought this book for the title story, and it is the most powerful of the stories, though the others are also very entertaining. Hopefully it will also stay with you. Ms Jackson is a phenomenally talented writer. You know immediately that there is something wrong with the simple village lottery, and the suspense and horror builds with every word. That this can be achieved in the space of a short story is amazing - we have a very lttle time before we are faced with the shocking truth. "The Lottery" is the finest short story of its genre, and stands alone as one of the greatest stories ever written. Shirley Jackson is a master, and her novels "The Haunting of Hill House" and "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" are also engrossing reads. But "The Lottery"? Well, you will never forget the twist in the tale.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable Short Story
Review: I first read this short story in highschool and to this day, I still remember it vividly, especially "It isn`t fair, it isn`t right,".
Villagers gather together in the central square for the annual lottery. There is much excitement and interest as the rituals of the event proceed. The familiar discussion of current and everyday happenings in village life is intermingled with commentary on the traditional and modern ways of holding the lottery, as well as observation of the particularities of this year's proceedings. Finally a winning family is chosen by ballot, and from that family a winning member--Mrs. Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson is then stoned by the villagers, including her family members.
Rating:
Summary: Illuminating snapshots of life
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: So Cool
Review: I read "The Lottery" for a project we had to do in eighth grade english class. I read it one night after reading "The Haunting of Hill House." I had heard all of the commotion about "The Lottery" and was in the mood for something shocking. I got what I deserved. My jaw dropped about a mile! I then made my mother read it so that she too could feel the absolute shock I felt. There's nothing like it in the world. None of the other stories compare, either. At school, I tried to explain to my friends how horrifying and awesome it was, but they didn't understand. You really have to experiance it. DO IT! READ IT! PLEASE!!!! The suspense just builds and builds and builds...there's no way of knowing what will happen until the last page. Sadly, when I did my presentation on the story in front of the class, I had to tell them all what happened at the end. Now they will never know the true shock and surprise you feel after you finish "The Lottery."
Rating:
Summary: one of the best short story collections ever
Review: After being blown away by The Lottery years ago I purchased this book to try some of Ms Jackson's other stories and it was well worth the purchase. Well-written, excellent characterizations, and a style all her own I look forward to reading more of the works of this talented and unforgettable author.
Rating:
Summary: Read it for the other stories.
Review: Right, sure, The Lottery, classic, whatever. I'm really not a big fan of the title story in this volume, quite likely because my first exposure to it was through an absolutely horrendous dramatization that I'm sure some of you are familiar with. I wholeheartedly agree that it is very intriguing the first time around, what with the suspense and all, but it is simply not interesting enough to hold up to further scrutinization, nor is it as simple and affecting as the other stories in this volume, and I find it hard to enjoy the second and third time around. However, the 'and other stories' is what really makes this collection. They're truly the mirrors into the soul that 'The Lottery' has so long been praised as being. Single snapshots of tiny situations and individuals become stunningly beautiful snippets of prose. My personal favorite story in the collection, as well as in most collections, is 'The Witch', yet again a perfect glimpse into the passing lives of the individuals you see every day.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable Short Story
Review: I first read this short story in highschool and to this day, I still remember it vividly, especially "It isn`t fair, it isn`t right,".
Villagers gather together in the central square for the annual lottery. There is much excitement and interest as the rituals of the event proceed. The familiar discussion of current and everyday happenings in village life is intermingled with commentary on the traditional and modern ways of holding the lottery, as well as observation of the particularities of this year's proceedings. Finally a winning family is chosen by ballot, and from that family a winning member--Mrs. Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson is then stoned by the villagers, including her family members.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, funny, creepy
Review: I never read the short story "the Lottery" in school or anything, but had it recommended to me by my mum after she heard I loved Ira Levin's "the Stepford Wives". I didn't know it was a short story, so when I got the book and saw it was the last story included, I decided to leave it till the end and read the stories front-to-back. I really enjoy Margaret Atwood, and find similarities in the writing style of her and Shirley Jackson; perhaps it's the feminine perspective, the insight, the banal everyday detail laid out with great care. I found myself really enjoying the book, and always of course anticipating the final story. Highlights for me in this book include "Charles", about the 'troubled classmate' of a woman's young son; "the Renegade", in which a woman feels compassion for her dog's ignorant activities; "Dorothy and My Grandmother and the Sailors", which reminded me of my paranoia of the unknown as a child and my then-absolute belief in my family's viewpoints; "Of Course" made me squirm with awkwardness at the "thin-ice" of introductions and laugh out loud; and of course, "the Lottery" was a great way for this book to end for me. I kind of anticipated what was going to happen, but it was no less effective when it did. The feeling of helplessness is present in many of these stories, of a woman watching her life through confused eyes and feeling a loss of control, not being able to relate to or understand the people around her. The stories and characters were very real, the conversation between characters very natural. Every awkward moment, every suspicious action, is captured beautifully. I really liked this book. I would recommend it highly; I am not usually a fan of short stories, but these were wonderful. I found myself looking forward to sitting down to read one here and there, and all of them left me thinking about them afterwards. **Interesting note: as I was reading the short story of "the Lottery", I found myself reminded of a music video by Marilyn Manson, for the song "Man That You Fear". Looking this connection up on the internet, I found that he used the story as his inspiration for the video. Even if you can't stomach Marilyn Manson, it's an interesting (and inoffensive!) visualization (though somewhat altered) of the story, and worth checking out for interest's sake. Just thought I'd mention it!
Rating: 
Summary: Lottery - 5 stars, Remainder - 3 stars
Review: I purchased this book on the fact that the Lottery is a great story and extremely eerie. Another reason for purchasing this was the overall high rating for this book by everyone. That was incredibly misleading. If you read thru the other reviews of this book closely, you will find that most people are telling you about the brilliance of the story "The Lottery" and not the other stories in this compilation. I expected stories on par with the Lottery in this collection. I didn't find it. The majority of other stories do not fall in to the classification of horror stories like the Lottery or "The Haunting of Hill House" which Shirley Jackson is also so famous for. The stories would fall in to the region of American Literature, not horror or mystery. As some other reviewers have noted there are multiple stories that don't come to a conclusion as one would expect with either a horror or mystery story but are a poignant tale of literature. I am a huge mystery buff and definitely part of the pull of this collection was that it was in the mystery section of my bookstore. That along with the other items I previously mentioned convinced me to buy it. If you find yourself buying this for mystery or horror stories, take a pass. If you are looking to reread "The Lottery" I would recommend taking this book out from the library. This purchase is only wise for literature enthusiasts.
|
