Shirley Jackson’s works have been adapted and scrutinized for decades but have we always done her work justice? For Jezebel, Emily Alford examines the hazards of loneliness seen in Jackson’s books like The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and the ways their various film and TV adaptations have missed the mark. “The question of what Jackson’s work is ‘about’ is one that persists over half a century since much of it was published,” Alford writes, “yet the recent revival of interest hasn’t seemed to push us any closer to ‘getting it,’ at least not in any screen adaptation we’ve had so far.”
The Mad and Feral Works of Shirley Jackson
The Latest from Canada
Need some more Canadian literature in your life? The Walrus asked several authors to pick their favorite books of the year. Among their selections are The Betrayers, a novel by Year in Reading alum David Bezmozgis, and Wallflowers, the recent collection of stories by Eliza Robertson. Pair with: Andrew Saikali on Canadian novellas.
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Anthony Shadid Dies in Syria
It was shocking to find that New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid had died, of an asthma attack of all things, while reporting in Syria, especially when he’s put himself in harm’s way so many other times and emerged unscathed. Tyler Hicks, the Times photographer who was with Shadid when he died and who escorted his body out of Syria was, along with Shadid, among of the four journalists captured and held in Libya less than a year ago in the early days of the uprising there. Shadid’s reporting was brave and essential there and elsewhere. His death comes just weeks before the release of a memoir, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East.
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Cohen’s New Old Ideas
Leonard Cohen’s new album Old Ideas is getting glowing reviews. Slate says of Cohen, “When it comes to lyrics, he’s second to no one—including Dylan.”
HBO Is Having Leftovers
According to sources for Vulture, HBO has ordered a television pilot based on Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers, which “takes place in a world still reeling from a Rapture-like event three years earlier.” The project will be managed by Lost co-producer Damon Lindelof.
The Epicenter of Pacific Literature
Mike Sonksen takes a look at both Tinfish and Bamboo Ridge Press, as well as a handful of influential Hawaiian writers, as he investigates “Maui, Pacific Literature, and the Aloha Spirit.”
Jami Attenberg on Building a Writing Life
Jami Attenberg reflects on how a key moment of rejection allowed her to carve out her own path as a writer.
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The Lottery sticks out in my mind. I had to read it for several classes and it scared me every time. I couldn’t imagine it as a movie. The casual cruelty and nonchalance towards the violence would fit the current climate.. However, it’d likely be toned down, which would miss the point.