Friday, October 2, 2026

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson (1948)

"The Lottery"

Bonus: Live fake horse racing!

Summary: Rock flies, somebody dies. 

Commentary: This story sucks, and it has sucked everytime I read it since middle school. It has three issues.

 1. Shirley Jackson's prose is like nails on a chalkboard. "the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." Get the fuck out of here. That reads like it was written by a middle schooler.

2. It's opaque and contradictory in, I assume, an intentional way, but it's just annoying.

3. Tessie is the least interesting/likable character in the story. I wouldn't go so far as to say I want her to get stoned to death, but she's not much above that. 

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