This was my first experience with Shirley Jackson, aside from reading "The Lottery" many years ago (and not remembering it particularly favorably, I suppose I should say). Yet, I devoured this book, moving from one volume into the next, and was consistently fascinated with her graceful prose and the vast range of her subjects, characters, and themes. I'd strongly recommend this full volume to any fan of contemporary American fiction, but I've written brief reviews of each of the three separate volumes below for readers who might want to pick up one of the single works. I do want to say, first, though, that each of these works is incredibly different, and a reader who dislikes one may truly enjoy another. On a last note, the further a reader reaches into the collection order-wise, the darker the stories get in a slow evelation toward themes that verge on horror, or at least psychological suspense. The transition occurs towards the end of the collection, and plays as a nice lead-in towards Jackson's longer and darker work that follows.

The Lottery and Other Stories: Each off these is a solid and graceful story, full and worthwhile in its own right. I found the ones which were a bit longer to be more to my taste, probably because they allowed more time for character development, but I'd go back to reread any of them in the end. I even found somewhat that I'd grown into "The Lottery", though I probably still hold over some prejudices on that one from highschool. Regardless, the stories here are masterpieces of short fiction, and it's not a collection that becomes tiresome from an author repeating similar structures, themes or characters. I'd see readers of both Raymond Carver's and Eudora Welty's short fiction as enjoying Jackson's very much, though I'd level the charge of repetition against both those writers to some extent--not Jackson though. These stories are packed, unique, and quietly explosive in an oddly contemporary fashion.

The Haunting of Hill House: A fascinating and gothic psychological tour, worth reading for those who enjoy either horror, ghost stories, or psychological suspense. The work is masterful and terrifying, even for me, who knew exactly what to expect subject/action-wise. It's a mainstay in the haunted house genre of works, and you can see the conventions here. Still, the book is put together in a genius fashion, and I'm still not sure quite how it sucked me in so completely. Highly recommended, even if you think you know exactly what to expect.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle: this is the only volume in the collection that keeps the full book from being a five star rating for me, but it was still well worth the read, powerful and jarring in every respect. My only criticism is that this book alone seemed as if it ran a bit long, and small portions of the narrator's thoughts might have been left out without any real disadvantage to the work. I can stylistically and thematically see why Jackson felt the need for the slight repetition that occurs, but it didn't work for me as well as the stylistic moves she made in other writings. As with her other work though, this final piece in the collection is well worth the time, graceful, and incredibly jarring in a decidedly powerful and contemporary nature of revelation.

All three are highly recommended if you want a quietly jarring read. ( )