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lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Car accident, Child death, and Violence
sadiedumplingreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson
Spoilers included in review
Spoilers included in review
This was one of the first short story collections I have read in its entirety, and it absolutely blew me away. Shirley Jackson doesn’t reply on cheap horror tropes or give the reader anything on a silver platter; her writing makes you think, which is perhaps what makes it so scary. When it is up to you to consider what is going to happen next to the characters, their fate’s can seem more perilous than what could be written on a page.
Shirley Jackson’s work champions women and complex female characters throughout in a way that may seem subtle now, but was progressive for her time. For this reason my favourite story was “Family Treasures”, as the protagonist is both endearingly shy but deeply flawed, and gets away with the actions she takes, not to justify them, but to show how things like this can remain mysteries in everyday life.
Her focus on the domestic sphere is compelling. By creating quaint, provincial, atmospheres that slowly become destroyed, liked in “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Summer People”, she evokes a real sense of terror. This is because rifts in everyday lives and routines are often more scary than the supernatural as they are grounded in reality. For this reason, “The Man in the Woods” was my least favourite story as although domestic, it veered from the sense of normalcy in the other stories.
Overall, I loved the “Dark Tales” and will definitely read more Jackson. It only loses a quarter a star as by virtue of being a short story collection I enjoyed some more than others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident
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