Before Green Gables
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Before she had arrived at Green Gables, Anne Shirley had a difficult early life. Orphaned as a baby,...
The Evening of the Holiday
10.0
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Passionate undercurrents sweep in and out of this eloquent novel about a love affair in the summer...
Judd Apatow recommended Being There (1979) in Movies (curated)
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated The Haunting of Hill House in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Dr. Montague wishes to track the supernatural and write a factual paper on hauntings. He enlists the help of two women who he believes to have connections with the unnatural. The first is Theodora lighthearted and the center of attention, and Eleanor, quiet and fragile but ready for something in her life to change. Their party is completed by Luke, the charming heir to Hill House. The unnerving atmosphere of the house puts them all on edge from the moment they see it, but things only get stranger as the power of the house grows.
I was drawn to this book for several reasons. First, it was the week of Halloween, why not get into the spirit. But Hill House had begun to orbit in my life before this. I myself read The Lottery in my eighth-grade creative writing class. I also recently read a book called House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, which is also a haunted house story and Shirley Jackson’s book began getting recommended to me. As I started to read the book, I began to have this feeling best expressed through a quote from the book itself: “Am I walking toward something I should be running away from?”
When I started reading the story, I could not help but let my thoughts fly trying to solve 13388the mystery myself. The language of the book captured my attention completely. The descriptions built up the house so vividly in my imagination. The haunting Victorian atmosphere is both beautiful and disturbing. The unnerving and uncomfortable were created, kept up, and made the book hard to put down. I loved wondering about Mrs. Dudley, questioning the other characters, and imagining what could be knocking on the door.
Eleanor, as the point of view character, is the easiest to identify with. Her paranoia, fear, and anxiety are central parts to her identity, but she also seems to the most real in her reactions to both the house and the other characters. He relationships with each of the other four are almost dreamlike in the way level of closeness she has with them ebbs and flows. I could not help but feel for Eleanor, especially when it seems she is being targeted by the house.
I found this book to be enthralling. The horror genre is not my go-to read, but Shirley Jackson has a way with words and intimate feelings that makes me want to read through every book she has ever written. The psychological descent of the characters is natural and terrifying to behold. Now that I have read it, I cannot help but see Jackson’s influence on horror and psychological thriller. I am very pleased with having finally read this book and would highly recommend it as a must read. Only beware, the house as power and no one’s mind is safe.
When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
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“History at its best--clear, intelligent, moving. Paula Giddings has written a book as priceless...
Sisters
8.0
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Something unspeakable has happened to sisters July and September. Desperate for a fresh start,...
Literary Fiction Gothic
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
8.1
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Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a...
Dawn Marie (22 KP) rated Anne of Green Gables (1985) in Movies
Jan 19, 2018
As Good as It Gets (1997)
8.2
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Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear and Cuba Gooding, Jr., star in James L. Brooks' hit comedy,...