Review: Shirley

4 stars. The author, in her acknowledgements, calls this book a "fictional exercise," which is a perfect descriptor - it almost feels that way, in turning the pages, like the book came out of time spent playing in the Shirley Jackson sandbox. I can't blame her - hello from deep down the Shirley Jackson rabbit hole - but I did have to shake off the urge to call it presumptuous. 

Rose Nemser, a young and expecting newlywed, moves in with her husband Fred to the Jackson/Hyman house in North Bennington. Fred and Stanley hit it off, professionally and academically, while Rose and Shirley inch their way towards a strange friendship. Caught up in the odd liveliness of the house and drawn to the turbulence of Shirley and Stanley's marriage, Rose attempts to navigate a maze of questions, mysteries, and discoveries from within the unusual and creepy Shirley Jackson universe.

If you can look beyond some truly crazy word choices (ratiocinations? concomitant?), this is a fairly quick read, and very engrossing. The plot unfurls thoughtfully and yes, it absolutely channels Shirley Jackson. My heart was in my throat for the last third of the story, I truly could not predict where it was going or how it would end. I was deeply disturbed by Rose's dream, by design, but I was bothered more personally by the depiction of marriage. The author also leans really grotesque (especially in her descriptions of Stanley), but it never feels too forced or overwrought. Just grotesque, because that's what it was, that's how it was, that's how it happened.

There is a central mystery to the story but overall I would call it more character-driven. It is, like everything associated with Shirley Jackson, a study in repressed rage. It is incredibly well-researched. I look forward to checking out the adaptation. 

Shirley on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph