My Review of "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

People raved about this book, and as a horror reader and writer, I was embarrassed I hadn't read it. So I finally listened to it on audible as I drove cross-country.

Jackson's writing style if vivid and her craft is excellent. Her characters were well-fleshed, and she could evoke a gothic atmosphere, something I craved. But....

The main point-of-view character, Eleanor (or "Nell") is purposely fragile and naïve, having lived in a very controlling household with no real life of her own until she escaped to the Hill House project. But her frequent "episodes" of daydreaming and her overwhelming second-guessing of herself became very, very tedious. The other characters, though, didn't bother me. In fact, I found Dr. Montague very compelling and is wife, who shows up to act as a self-appointed medium, hilarious. The house caretaker, Mrs. Dudley, was stern to the point of being a caricature of herself.

More troublesome than Nell's character, though, was the fact that certain plot points never really seemed to come full circle. I won't give away anything, but I found the motivations of the spirits in the house and their activities and manifestations to be almost random. Clearly they focus on "fragile Nell", but by the end of the book I was scratching my head to figure out what much of it had to do with anything, and it all took a back seat to Eleanor's self-doubting. When the end of the book came, I was frankly happy when fate met her. 

Cheers and happy reading!

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Review of The Disappearance by Lisa Hodorovych

 

The Disappearance by Lisa Hodorovych
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ashlynn goes on a yearly retreat to a reclusive cabin in the woods of the Northwest with her brother, Glen, and two best friends, Roman and Kaden. But then they act odd and disappear without explanation, leaving her alone. Horrifying beasts stalk the woods around the cabin, but she can't just leave her loved ones behind. The help of an old friend, Jack, who happens to be a paranormal investigator, sheds light on the nature of these beasts and sparks more than a paranormal investigation...

The Disappearance is a quick read and a short novel, barely longer than novella length. It's a "gentle" paranormal story, something all too rare, in that it isn't focused on gore or gothic descriptions. Hodorovych leaves you feeling fulfilled with a sense of relationship, as the story is centered around the female protagonist and her devotion to the characters around her.

My main critiques are that I would have liked more scenic descriptions in the book (for instance, it takes place in the woods of the Northwest, but there's nary a description of ferns or fir trees), and I saw the plot twist coming long before the protagonist did. But Hodorovych demonstrates a mastery of writing craft and you feel the genuine emotions of the character as she navigates the challenges and searches for her missing loved ones against the threat of these cryptid creatures.

Cheers and happy reading!

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