What Book Did You Read Last Night??? (3 Viewers)

[travispickle]

On a recent trip to Brighton I read The West Pier by Patrick Hamilton; which is set in Brighton and very enjoyable
Now reading Birds of America by Lorrie Moore.

 

[pavlos]

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. Amazing

This is very good indeed.

 

[rettucs]

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. Amazing

I read that years ago and can't remember anything about it. I need to dig it out and read it again. I do remember there being lots of fuss about it and couldn't understand why. Maybe a second read will reveal all.

 

[Lili Marlene]

edit. nope

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Excellent teenage-outsider-weirdo-with-weird-family-and-hostile-neighbours novel

 

[Lili Marlene]

I love that book!

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I love that book!

I never heard of the author until last week. Have you read any of her other books? The general consensus seems to be that this is her best.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I never heard of the author until last week. Have you read any of her other books? The general consensus seems to be that this is her best.

I read the Haunting of Hill House, which is apparently a classic but I found it disappointing and kind of dull, I remember it being very melodramatic.

She's mostly known as a short story writer and her stories are really great, they're always about completely paranoid people going insane in their own mind but usually in a funny, almost banal way. They feel appropriate these days where everyone lives in their own little movie as they go about doing their day to day things because a lot of her characters think like that as well. I suppose you could argue her style is limited but it's very individual so if you're in the mood she's perfect.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

I never heard of the author until last week. Have you read any of her other books? The general consensus seems to be that this is her best.

Haven't read this but it's considered to be one of the best horror novels ever written
The Haunting of Hill House - Wikipedia

 

[David Kronenbourg]

It's gonna be a Netflix show...
The Haunting of Hill House (TV series) - Wikipedia

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

It's gonna be a Netflix show...
The Haunting of Hill House (TV series) - Wikipedia

I'm not reading it so.

 

[Lili Marlene]

It's gonna be a Netflix show...
The Haunting of Hill House (TV series) - Wikipedia

You know, if it was done well I could see it working. However, it won't be done well will it? It will give the audience what the audience thinks it wants and will be completely forgettable but chock full of clever references to make the audience feel smart..


bah

 

[David Kronenbourg]

You know, if it was done well I could see it working. However, it won't be done well will it? It will give the audience what the audience thinks it wants and will be completely forgettable but chock full of clever references to make the audience feel smart..


bah

And it will be 29 episodes long with 13 seasons planned...

 

[Lili Marlene]

And it will be 29 episodes long with 13 seasons planned...

The entire Shirley Jackson extended universe will start turning up.

"oh, they had a lottery over in that town"

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Her short stories are better than her novels (which I really like too). The Haunting of Hill House is terrific but can understand @red Red Wine’s feelings about it. “The Lottery” is one of the defining short stories of the 20th century. Apparently it was first published in (I think) The New Yorker who don’t (or at least didn’t) signpost what articles were journalism and what were fiction. As a result, it had a bit of an Orson Welles War of the Worlds effect.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

Also, there have been two films of it made already. The 1963 one is a classic:
The Haunting (1963 film) - Wikipedia

The 1999 one with Liam Neeson is not a classic.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Her short stories are better than her novels (which I really like too). The Haunting of Hill House is terrific but can understand @red Red Wine’s feelings about it. “The Lottery” is one of the defining short stories of the 20th century. Apparently it was first published in (I think) The New Yorker who don’t (or at least didn’t) signpost what articles were journalism and what were fiction. As a result, it had a bit of an Orson Welles War of the Worlds effect.

I could just have been in the wrong mood for the Haunting or something, I remember it feeling very obvious.

 

[jonah]

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Excellent teenage-outsider-weirdo-with-weird-family-and-hostile-neighbours novel

Read it for the first time a few months back and just felt like, how have I never read this before? It was perfect.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

I could just have been in the wrong mood for the Haunting or something, I remember it feeling very obvious.

Well I think it is obvious to us because the “is it real or it in their minds?” trope is so common now but to me it’s still a masterclass in writing, even if the story doesn’t have the same power as it did on publication. My tolerance for ghost stories/psychological horror/weird literature is high though.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Well I think it is obvious to us because the “is it real or it in their minds?” trope is so common now but to me it’s still a masterclass in writing, even if the story doesn’t have the same power as it did on publication. My tolerance for ghost stories/psychological horror/weird literature is high though.

yeah good point, maybe that's it. hmm

Just her other stuff stands up so well that it seems strange that that one kind of didn't.


Her writing is gas, I was laughing at how many adverbs she has per sentence the other day, creative writing teachers would be having a breakdown, but it totally works.