The Story: The novel is written in the voice of eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, who lives with her sister and uncle on an estate in Vermont. Six years before the events of the novel, the Blackwood family experienced a tragedy that left the three survivors isolated from the rest of their small village. (Wikipedia)
I’ve read this, and it took me a second read to really see the genius behind Shirley Jackson’s mystery thriller. Like her other works, it tackles issues of femininity and the societal norms and expectations of the feminine. Her most well known work is The Haunting on Hill House – who’s famous opening lines alone strike terror and imagination. Many novelist – myself included – can’t hit those notes without delving into gore. Shirley Jackson was powerhouse, misunderstood and unappreciated at times, and for that I honor her with my review, because I understand.
Black writers write and write and still need to work to pay bills, rear children, and battle internal and external forces trying to block you. Yet, the urge to write is an itch we must scratch.
What I Liked: It’s not horror in a sense. There’s no visible ghost and ghouls. It’s central character nicknamed MerriCat a bit of a witch, who dabbles in some spells and incantations to protect what remains of her family from the evil outside. When those walls are breached, the novel’s themes come together. The horror here is the mystery as the reader unfolds it. It about the taboo – those who dare to do the unthinkable. It’s about the magic of masculinity and femininity – the power one wields over the other, the power of money, the power of isolation, rage, jealousy, and mob mentality, and ultimately, the power of sympathy.
My Verdict: It’s a quick read. It’s doesn’t chill , but urges you on desperately.