Shirley Jackson is one of those authors that readers either love or hate. I've only read one of her novels and loved it for its psychologically dark premise. I'll let you guess which one it was. This collection of short stories, published as Dark Tales, has what I consider a mix of her work. Some of the stories sucked me in completely while others just had me rolling my eyes, either because of a non-ending, or because I thought the entire premise was implausible.
The Best of the Collection
In my opinion, the best in this collection would be the following stories. The Lottery is not included in this collection or I would definitely mention it.
The Possibility of Evil - This one gets me every time. I really can't say too much without giving everything away other than the elderly protagonist holds a certain rigid view about the people around her but considers herself entirely too polite to say anything out loud. It's a brilliant tale, which is probably why it's placed first in the collection.
All She Said Was Yes - How did Shirley Jackson manage to keep friends? Did anyone she knew ever wonder if she were writing about them? Anyhow, this short story tells of a set of neighbors who have lived next to one another since before their teenage daughters were born. When one set dies in a car accident, the other set reluctantly takes in the teenage daughter, disturbed how she expresses no grief at their loss. In fact, the girl keeps insisting that she told warned her parents two months before they actually died. It's a creepy book, made even creepier because the reader is inside the head of the spiteful and selfish wife of the second set of neighbors. She's a reminder that we carry on entire conversations in our head that are totally different than what comes out of our mouths. And if we weren't burdened by societal expectations, just think how awful we would be face to face as we can be online.
What a Thought - Creepy. A wife has thoughts of murdering her husband, not because he is abusive, but because he is so kind and willing to do what she asks of him. What a bizarre tale, but very well told and extremely shivery on many levels. Not long either, but it doesn't need to be.
Let's Call Them Meh
These are some of the least of the collection, in my opinion, either because they make no sense or because they are simply overdone.
The Good Wife - There are undoubtedly folks who love this story, but I am not one of them. This trope of abusive husband has been done to death at this point and the twist at the end, well, there is no known motive for it and so it makes no sense. I made it through and then ground my teeth a little in annoyance. You wouldn't find me willingly being locked up, that's for sure.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - I'm sorry, what? At least make it make sense, please. I know there are undoubtedly ill-behaved children like this little girl, but why?! None of this story made sense, from the record player to the bizarre doll to the little girl downstairs and the protagonist's behavior. Just implausible on every imaginable level.
The Summer People - To be fair, this one might make a decent suspense movie. But it's unfinished. What annoys me sometimes about short stories, is how they're left unfinished instead of giving the reader a real zinger at the end to make us catch our breath. So what if the elderly couple decides to stay on at their summer house by the lake after Labor Day for the first time ever? Why should that suddenly upset the delicate balance of absolutely everything in the townspeople's behavior? It just is bizarre and not in a good way.
The ultimate takeaway for me is to be aware of what we're thinking when it doesn't align with how we're actually behaving. A kind act if done with a reluctant and irritated heart might just as well not be done at all. I'm still a Shirley Jackson fan and I encourage folks who like psychological horror/thrillers to give this collection of short stories a try. Just know that you've got some real winners and some that are just . . . not.
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