The Lottery and Other Stories (FSG Classics)

By Shirley Jackson

One of the most terrifying stories of the twentieth century, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker in 1948. "Power and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, a story remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane. The Lottery and Other Stories, the only collection of stories to appear during Shirley Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery" with twenty-four equally unusual short stories. Together they demonstrate Jackson's remarkable range—from the hilarious to the horrible, the unsettling to the ominous—and her power as a storyteller.

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Published Mar 16, 2005

199 pages

Average rating: 7.75

155 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

anne ducastel
8/10 stars
Shirley Jackson has become one of my favorite authors, her talent and diversity are boundless. And some of the short stories were just terrifying and masterpieces.
Dewey
4/10 stars
a few stories (notably "Demon Lover" and "the Garden") were engaging; others were tedious and distressing - and lacking an ending. Maybe the author was as weary of writing these as I was of reading them . . .
jillian79
10/10 stars
LOOOOOVE Shirley Jackson!!!
grldchz
8/10 stars
A most upsetting story that I saved to read today because it all takes place "on the twenty-seventh of June". My newest annual ritual read.
not_another_ana
6/10 stars
3/5 stars
This was a good read but not particularly interesting. I think a lot of classics suffer when someone from the present reads them because media has already used them as a stepping stone and either paid homage to them or improved on their ideas, so whatever was revolutionary back then becomes old.

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