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johnelwood

johnelwood asked:

Hey Sammy, my book's finally out. Been out for a bit. The book is called The Rail City, by John Elwood. It's written in a very sparse style you might find familiar (McCarthy, Hemingway, etc etc). You can borrow it from amazon if you have a prime membership. If not I'd be happy to send you a copy!

Sure, John, I’d love to read it! I’m currently in West Africa, so it might take me a while to get to it, but i definitely will. By the way, my name’s Nick.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959) review: The Haunting of Hill House provides a very different horror/ suspense story than the norm, and in a very creative and compelling way. Jackson creates the normal slight plot twists that any good, scary story needs, and really good ones at that, but she also creates very compelling characters and interactions (particularly the protagonist and her relationship to some of the other characters). The protagonist goes through a variety of psychological challenges and paths the provide a deeply compelling commentary for the way people react to problems of life, and in particular, the problems of a woman during this time and place. The main reason that I enjoyed this story was for the interesting and original way that Jackson told a scary story; scary stories themselves provide a good amount of entertainment, but the literary value of the story make is not only entertaining, but respectable. Just as important, though, is that Jackson does this in a concise way. She does not drag out or hang too long on details that could, more effectively be subtly mentioned. If you would like to read this book, I would recommend trying to point out when traditional scary story methods are used, and then try to understand what makes Jackson’s use of these different. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a well told scary story, as well as those who are interested in Gothic texts. This story is a great example of an entertaining and literary Gothic story, and a great way to see how writers like Poe and Hawthorne have influenced 20th century writers. 8.7/10
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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959) review:

The Haunting of Hill House provides a very different horror/ suspense story than the norm, and in a very creative and compelling way. Jackson creates the normal slight plot twists that any good, scary story needs, and really good ones at that, but she also creates very compelling characters and interactions (particularly the protagonist and her relationship to some of the other characters). The protagonist goes through a variety of psychological challenges and paths the provide a deeply compelling commentary for the way people react to problems of life, and in particular, the problems of a woman during this time and place. The main reason that I enjoyed this story was for the interesting and original way that Jackson told a scary story; scary stories themselves provide a good amount of entertainment, but the literary value of the story make is not only entertaining, but respectable. Just as important, though, is that Jackson does this in a concise way. She does not drag out or hang too long on details that could, more effectively be subtly mentioned. If you would like to read this book, I would recommend trying to point out when traditional scary story methods are used, and then try to understand what makes Jackson’s use of these different. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a well told scary story, as well as those who are interested in Gothic texts. This story is a great example of an entertaining and literary Gothic story, and a great way to see how writers like Poe and Hawthorne have influenced 20th century writers.

8.7/10

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