I picked up this collection of short stories by Shirley Jackson solely to read "The Lottery" because someone had mentioned the premise behind "The Hunger Games" was similar. While I thoroughly enjoyed "The Hunger Games", I found the short story "The Lottery" to be just plain creepy, like an episode out of the Twilight Zone TV show. I'm glad I wasn't required to read this one in school!

I also sampled a few more of the shorter, short stories in this collection. I laughed at "The Dummy" (I couldn't get the restaurant scene from "Hello Dolly" out of my mind when reading it). "The Intoxicated" hinted at something sinister happening to the world and I wanted to know more. "The Witch" was a bit disturbing. "Got a Letter from Jimmy" also left me wanting to know more back story (but I guess that might be the hallmark of good short story). ( )

I love Jackson’s novels but to her stories - except for her most famous one - I could not relate. I found them disturbing and confounding, and I simply did not want to read any further. ( )

Elegant and succinct short stories. A few are too simplistic in their morals. Some very compelling characters. ( )

As many of you probably have, I read The Lottery while still in high school. I found it to be a chilling story then; and I found it to be as chilling today. The other short stories leading up to this were a genuinely nice surprise, as I wasn't familiar with any of Shirley Jackson's other short pieces. Little snippets of life, written with such plain language. I found them to be fascinating in their simplicity. The beginning writer could learn a great deal from Shirley Jackson. ( )

While I picked this up to see if "The Lottery" has held up since I read it in high school (and it has), this collection is far more than just its title story. Whether she's writing about social issues such as race ("After You, My Dear Alphonse", "Flower Garden") or class ("Men with Their Big Shoes"), Jackson is a master of the short story. She succinctly captures a child's point-of-view ("Afternoon in Linen", "The Witch") as well as that of an outsider in the city ("Pillar of Salt", "The Tooth"). While Jackson wields a skillful pen (see such finely crafted stories as "The Daemon Lover", "Like Mother Used to Make" and "The Villager") I feel that she's at her best on shorter stories, such as the affecting and sharp "Got A Letter from Jimmy", rather than longer ones. ( )