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The Road Through the Wall, Hangsaman, and, The Bird's Nest
Contains "The Road Through the Wall", "Hangsaman" and "The Bird's Nest"
The Road Through the Wall: Everyone knew the residents of Pepper Street were "nice" people -- especially the residents themselves. Among the self-satisfied group were: Mrs Merriam, the sanctimonious shrew who was turning her husband into a nonentity and her daughter into a bigoted spinster; Mr Roberts, who found relief from the street's unending propriety in shoddy side-street amours; Miss Fielding, who considered it more important to boil an egg properly than to save a disturbed girl from destruction. It took the gruesome act of a desperate boy who lived among them to pierce the shell of their complacency and force them to see their own ugliness.
HANGSAMAN is Miss Jackson's second novel. The story is a simple one but the overtones are immediately present. "Natalie Waite who was seventeen years old but who felt that she had been truly conscious only since she was about fifteen lived in an odd corner of a world of sound and sight, past the daily voices of her father and mother and their incomprehensible actions." In a few graphic pages, the family is before us—Arnold Waite, a writer, egotistical and embittered; his wife, the complaining martyr; Bud, the younger brother who has not yet felt the need to establish his independence; and Natalie, in the nightmare of being seventeen.
The Bird's Nest: Elizabeth is a demure twenty-three-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother’s inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist. But slowly, and with Jackson’s characteristic chill, we learn that Elizabeth is not just one girl—but four separate, self-destructive personalities. The Bird’s Nest, Jackson’s third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master’s most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.
The Road Through the Wall: Everyone knew the residents of Pepper Street were "nice" people -- especially the residents themselves. Among the self-satisfied group were: Mrs Merriam, the sanctimonious shrew who was turning her husband into a nonentity and her daughter into a bigoted spinster; Mr Roberts, who found relief from the street's unending propriety in shoddy side-street amours; Miss Fielding, who considered it more important to boil an egg properly than to save a disturbed girl from destruction. It took the gruesome act of a desperate boy who lived among them to pierce the shell of their complacency and force them to see their own ugliness.
HANGSAMAN is Miss Jackson's second novel. The story is a simple one but the overtones are immediately present. "Natalie Waite who was seventeen years old but who felt that she had been truly conscious only since she was about fifteen lived in an odd corner of a world of sound and sight, past the daily voices of her father and mother and their incomprehensible actions." In a few graphic pages, the family is before us—Arnold Waite, a writer, egotistical and embittered; his wife, the complaining martyr; Bud, the younger brother who has not yet felt the need to establish his independence; and Natalie, in the nightmare of being seventeen.
The Bird's Nest: Elizabeth is a demure twenty-three-year-old wiling her life away at a dull museum job, living with her neurotic aunt, and subsisting off her dead mother’s inheritance. When Elizabeth begins to suffer terrible migraines and backaches, her aunt takes her to the doctor, then to a psychiatrist. But slowly, and with Jackson’s characteristic chill, we learn that Elizabeth is not just one girl—but four separate, self-destructive personalities. The Bird’s Nest, Jackson’s third novel, develops hallmarks of the horror master’s most unsettling work: tormented heroines, riveting familial mysteries, and a disquieting vision inside the human mind.
834 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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283 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Jackson
340 books11.3k followersShirley Jackson was an influential American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years. She has influenced such writers as Stephen King, Nigel Kneale, and Richard Matheson.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 12, 2015
Three novels contained in this book, each extremely unsettling in their own way. The Road Through the Wall, wow - great portrayal of suburban banality ending in horror. Hangsaman left me feeling so bereft at times for the impossibility of ever making the right choices but ended on a hopeful note at least. The Bird's Nest was so well written, you can't help but question the sanity of all characters at different times and eventually even your own perception of reality begins to shift along with the characters.
July 2, 2013
I'm rating The Road Through the Wall, which is one of the three Jackson novels included in here (along with Hangsaman and The Bird's Nest). Road Through the Wall is excellent -- probably one of the earliest depictions of the dystopic reality of suburban life. She handles multiple characters and storylines with ease, and I am always in admiration of her unadorned yet striking prose.
May 26, 2015
Pretty experimental stuff for American literature in the 1950's. Jackson is very good at dialog and especially the conversation of children and teenagers. And her subject matter of mental illness, suburban superficiality, etc. was rather ahead of its time.
September 4, 2017
I just love Shirley Jackson. She has a way about her that makes you feel slightly creepy, slightly apprehensive, with a lot of anticipation thrown in.
These are Jackson's first three novels. "The Road Through the Wall" is a disturbing/creepy/sad view at small-town suburbia and the things that can happen when everyone knows what everyone else is doing. "Hangsaman" takes a trip with Jackson's own her experience heading off to college and the beginning of her schizophrenia. It was sad, disturbing, and made me afraid to send my child to school because there's just nothing you can do to fix mental illness, especially when your loved one is away from home.
While the first two books were more autobiographical, the third book, "The Bird's Nest", is based on an actual case of multiple personality disorder. I found this one the most fascinating.
You're either going to to love Shirley Jackson or be completely turned off by her. I love her. I hope you do, too
These are Jackson's first three novels. "The Road Through the Wall" is a disturbing/creepy/sad view at small-town suburbia and the things that can happen when everyone knows what everyone else is doing. "Hangsaman" takes a trip with Jackson's own her experience heading off to college and the beginning of her schizophrenia. It was sad, disturbing, and made me afraid to send my child to school because there's just nothing you can do to fix mental illness, especially when your loved one is away from home.
While the first two books were more autobiographical, the third book, "The Bird's Nest", is based on an actual case of multiple personality disorder. I found this one the most fascinating.
You're either going to to love Shirley Jackson or be completely turned off by her. I love her. I hope you do, too
September 24, 2019
Wow, a Shirley Jackson story actually has a "happy" ending! All of these were really amazing, though it was sometimes hard to read through certain descriptions when the winding prose got going. Beautiful language, but hard to read for me with my brain on "pause" most of the time. I'm glad I took time to get through these, though. I think The Bird's Nest is my favorite, but The Road Through the Wall was excellent as well. I just wish I was SURE who did it--curse you, Shirley Jackson, for making us always wonder about these things!!
December 21, 2019
Averaging the 3 books to 3 stars: The Road through the Wall 3, Hangsaman 2, The Nest 4. I love Shirley Jackson's writing style almost stopped reading halfway through Hangsaman because I got bored , but I found the ending more interesting.
November 15, 2016
Of the 3 books in this collection, The Bird's Nest is by far the best. The Road through the Wall takes a while to get going as it begins with lengthy descriptions of the families living on a particular street in a California town. A quote from the back cover calls it an "unpleasant look at surburbia, written at least partly to get back at her parents". The second, Hangsaman, is better, describing the descent into schizophrenia by a college freshman and is based somewhat on her own experience. The Bird's Nest is based on a 1906 case of multiple personality disorder and is fascinating.
I read a review of a recent biography of Jackson in The Economist and remembering her astonishing story, The Lottery, I found this collection in my library.
I read a review of a recent biography of Jackson in The Economist and remembering her astonishing story, The Lottery, I found this collection in my library.
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July 20, 2012Recently purchased this and am REALLY excited to start reading it!
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November 29, 2017Got to the third book and sort of lost my steam.
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September 8, 2018eh
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews