I’ve started to read Shirley Jackson’s work over the last few years. Thus far I’ve read three of her novels: Hangsaman, The Haunting of Hill House, and I just finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle. (Which was phenomenal by the way.) To me her writing feels unique – and I can’t understand why her work is not something that is talked about more on the level of say Steinbeck or Fitzgerald or Hemingway. Her work is excellent and I’m struggling to understand why it wasn’t celebrated more as a great American writer. Is it because it was more gothic in tone or because she was a woman? Why wasn’t she on the recommended reading lists? Do they talk about her now in school? I’d really love to hear some perspective on her – as I feel like she is really overlooked. Or am I not looking in the right places?
by WendyDarling-2024