The Lottery
Ratings178
Average rating4
I feel pretty much every emotion you could possibly feel about this book. To me Shirley Jackson is the queen of minor anxieties, and so this book was exhausting, unnerving, thrilling, confusing. Some of the stories hit too close to home, and made me angry, others made me laugh, or gasp in shock and horror. After every short story I wanted this book to be over I could be released from it's grip, but I also wanted it never to end.
I'm still feeling a bit dazed and confused about this book. Can I say I really enjoyed it? I'm not sure. I have this deep feeling that it is one of the most important books I've ever read, and I almost feel a compulsion to read it over and over and over again. But I also feel like I might need a break from it for sometime.
2 stars.
The story was sadly not my cup of tea. I found it very predictable early on and it didn't really catch me but I'm glad other people like this short story more than me. Shirley Jackson's “the Lottery” was obviously influential on a lot of writers and without it we wouldn't have some iconic stories that we know now, so I am grateful for that.
I will definitely give Haunting of Hill House a try though.
School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands.
From the very first page, I could tell it was going to be a smooth read. The story isn't bad, but it's not exactly thrilling or amusing either.
It reminded me of watching The Twilight Zone (1959 series) earlier this year, where I felt totally disconnected from some episodes.
What was fascinating, though, was the overwhelmingly negative reception to this story. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:
Jackson and The New Yorker were both surprised by the initial negative response from readers; subscriptions were canceled and large amounts of hate mail were sent throughout the summer of its first publication, with Jackson receiving at least 10 letters per day. The Union of South Africa banned the story because some parts of Africa still used stoning as a punishment.
Summary: The residents of a small town gather for the lottery on a bright, sunny day. At first glance, everything seems normal, but it quickly becomes apparent that there is something ominous about this event.
will need to reread this one bc i read it when i was on the desk at work so patrons kept INTERRUPTING .... but anyway, slay
4.50 ★
there is a lot to be said about this story, and i feel like whatever i wrote here would never be enough to expose what i thoroughly thought of it. a simple review written by me on goodreads would never convey what i most desired to write about this, so i'll leave it at that, and hope someday i'm able to put it into words.
4.5 stars • a dark tale that makes you think and possibly one of the best short stories of all time!
I went into this story expecting a plot twist. That happens. But I was originally left underwhelmed. I was expecting something more dramatic and out of the box. I was expecting some horror to creep me out, something unrealistic, but this isn't a tale of monsters, it's almost a tale of realism.
Here's the thing. It's a predictable story. But the meaning of the story is powerful and is one that sticks with you. After reading this story, I looked up the analysis. It's a dark story about mob mentality and tradition. The dangers of continuing tradition, blindly following it for ‘the sake of tradition'. This is quite a powerful short story and one I will remember. 4.5/5
A harrowing story which highlights follow the herd mentality. The end had me spiralling. To ‘respect' the old traditions, the younger generations are expected to observe many rituals. So what if they suffer from the consequences of some outdated tradition in the name of honour, custom, formality, habit and so on? Everyone in the past did it too.
Read and reviewed: Jul 05, 2021
This short story was selected by the Organized Book Club Server. P read it in high school. I just read it. I don't know what to make of it. Tradition. Superstition. The lesser of two evils in order to have a plentiful harvest that year and feed the whole village. A fear of what would happen if the ritual stops. Even if other villages around have already stopped it. But the story: Each year, at a lottery, a member of the community is selected at random to be stoned (probably) to death. And everyone has prepared their stones in advance.
Raccolta di racconti, di cui da il più importante e il più bello prende il nome. Gli altri, a parte il secondo, sono più che altro riempitivi e sembra un decrescendo verso l'ultimo, il peggiore della raccolta.
La lotteria ★★★★
Il racconto parte da un tranquillo paese che sembra prepararsi per quella che la scrittrice fa credere sia una festa di campagna... una lotteria. Tutte le famiglie del paese sono chiamate a partecipare e il tutto è regolato da rigide regole. La conclusione che il lettore si aspetta però non arriverà mai, anzi... Il racconto è godibile e alla fine butta un ombra inquietante su tutto.
Lo sposo ★★★
Questo è racconto che coinvolge il lettore in una spasmodica e misteriosa ricerca. Il tutto è abbastanza surreale, ma quello che viene reso benissimo sono l'ansia e gli atteggiamenti della protagonista. Intrigante.
Colloquio ★
Un colloquio con un dottore da parte di una donna che non riesce più a comprendere la realtà che la circonda. Nulla di che.
Il fantoccio ★
Pessimo: due signore in un locale con spettacolo di ventriloquo. Noioso e inconcludente, pathos zero.
While my boyfriend napped, I found this story for free online and read it. Uh, wow. Has the feel of a Twilight Zone episode. Eerie, bleak, and dark.
A quick but chilling read. Great suspense right up until the final page. Highly recommended.
3.5 Today's Final Jeopardy! made me aware of this short story. KiTtY got the correct solution. Of course. ;-)