I love both of these books - I just re-listened to Hill House on audio (read by David Warner) and it gave me chills, as it does every single time I return to it. It never loses its dark charm.
I'm interested to see what you make of The Haunting of Hill House, Haley.
I haven't read 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' - I have that pleasure ahead of me!
I am also baffled by Jackson's talent. She is both disarmingly charming and coolly unsettling. She puts things off balance but just slightly - like setting you off walking on uneven legs - the tilt is almost unnoticeable but abruptly you find you've walked into unfamiliar surrounds - all this time you were veering off to one side without knowing it!
As I write that, I realise that this is also what's unsettling about Hill House - things are off balance and out of square and don't quite join up how you thought they did.
Yes! I will share a link later this week to a Note I saw here on Substack — someone (name is failing me but I'll tag them when I find it!) — posted Jackson's sketches of Hill House's architecture and omg it adds so much to what you're saying here bout things not "quite join[ing] up how you thought they did."
That is a fantastic analysis! I love the attention to the punctuation, which I'm always drawn to in Jackson's writing. She's so meticulous about every little mark on the page!
I love both of these books - I just re-listened to Hill House on audio (read by David Warner) and it gave me chills, as it does every single time I return to it. It never loses its dark charm.
I'm interested to see what you make of The Haunting of Hill House, Haley.
I haven't read 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' - I have that pleasure ahead of me!
I am also baffled by Jackson's talent. She is both disarmingly charming and coolly unsettling. She puts things off balance but just slightly - like setting you off walking on uneven legs - the tilt is almost unnoticeable but abruptly you find you've walked into unfamiliar surrounds - all this time you were veering off to one side without knowing it!
As I write that, I realise that this is also what's unsettling about Hill House - things are off balance and out of square and don't quite join up how you thought they did.
Yes! I will share a link later this week to a Note I saw here on Substack — someone (name is failing me but I'll tag them when I find it!) — posted Jackson's sketches of Hill House's architecture and omg it adds so much to what you're saying here bout things not "quite join[ing] up how you thought they did."
When can we start discussing these books without worrying about spoilers?
Let's say end of next week!
The Big Read is also reading The Haunting of Hill House, and Jeremy provided this link to an analysis of the first paragraph: https://medium.com/@penguinrandomus/shirley-jacksons-sublime-first-paragraph-in-hill-house-annotated-14834632fc61.
That is a fantastic analysis! I love the attention to the punctuation, which I'm always drawn to in Jackson's writing. She's so meticulous about every little mark on the page!