Thanks, Jim. I enjoyed the film but it is different, so purists might dislike it. I think they wanted to make Merricat a much more sympathetic character.
Such a joy to hear your thoughts about the book. It was such a strange experience to read it and I was constantly thrown between very strong opposite feelings - I loved it and in the next moment, I felt so uncomfortable with it. So the idea of seeing everything through Merrycats eyes (eyes of a whitch) as fairy tale with a happy ending makes me want to reread it. I think this might be even better than reading it for the first time! 🤗📚
Thank you! I really enjoyed my first read of it but at the end I immediately wanted to go back and re-read it as I just knew it would make a great re-read. It was even better the second time!
Films don't seem to trust their viewers and spell out everything. I love ambiguity, complex characters, unreliable narrators, and so on. I love Shirley Jackson, too, and I've read a lot of her short stories, We Have Always..., and The Haunting of Hill House. I have her Hangsaman on my shelf, but haven't got to it yet. She also has a couple of humorous books about her children and being a suburban mom that I would like to read. Just a brilliant author. Thank you for sharing your commentary!
Yes, most films definitely seem to want a neat bow on everything and want the audience to connect with the characters, which is what I thought was going on here giving Merricat ‘reasons’ for her actions! I have The Haunting of Hill House on the tbr and will definitely seek out more of her stuff. This was a fantastic read!
Hearing you talk about this makes me remember how awesome this book was. I really need to get to more Shirley Jackson!!
It is one of those books that just lingers long after you’ve finished it! Definitely need to read more SJ!
Great choice of book for the FOMO book club, I haven't seen the film.
Thanks, Jim. I enjoyed the film but it is different, so purists might dislike it. I think they wanted to make Merricat a much more sympathetic character.
Such a joy to hear your thoughts about the book. It was such a strange experience to read it and I was constantly thrown between very strong opposite feelings - I loved it and in the next moment, I felt so uncomfortable with it. So the idea of seeing everything through Merrycats eyes (eyes of a whitch) as fairy tale with a happy ending makes me want to reread it. I think this might be even better than reading it for the first time! 🤗📚
Thank you! I really enjoyed my first read of it but at the end I immediately wanted to go back and re-read it as I just knew it would make a great re-read. It was even better the second time!
I love this book so much, so it’s great to hear your thoughts!
It was such a great book club pick - we had so much to discuss and it really lingered with me!
Oh the film sounds so good. I did enjoy the book but oh you got sooo much out of it 😊
I think you would enjoy the film! It’s definitely one where they’ve tried to tie up plot holes and answer questions!
Films don't seem to trust their viewers and spell out everything. I love ambiguity, complex characters, unreliable narrators, and so on. I love Shirley Jackson, too, and I've read a lot of her short stories, We Have Always..., and The Haunting of Hill House. I have her Hangsaman on my shelf, but haven't got to it yet. She also has a couple of humorous books about her children and being a suburban mom that I would like to read. Just a brilliant author. Thank you for sharing your commentary!
Yes, most films definitely seem to want a neat bow on everything and want the audience to connect with the characters, which is what I thought was going on here giving Merricat ‘reasons’ for her actions! I have The Haunting of Hill House on the tbr and will definitely seek out more of her stuff. This was a fantastic read!
I thought I'd read this book but listening to you I realise I haven't😂. Sounds like a brilliant book club read.
It was one that just kept me thinking about it long after I’d finished!