Book Club: September/October

[Cyndi Kingsley]

I finished last night, which was great because it's due tomorrow and I wouldn't have been able to renew! I didn't find it spooky so much as it created this really unsettled feeling for me the more I read it. But thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Spoiler: I'm talking about the ending so you've been warned!

I do have to say that I did not see Nell driving into a tree at the end! Like what the heck?! I didn't think it was smart to let her leave on her own, though I did get the doctor's thought that she needed a clean break from Hill House. I get that she felt she had nothing to go back to, that this was the most exciting point of her life that she was being from, and she'd been rejected by Theo.

Those last chapters where she was sneaking around and then that evening when she was having her break and running around the place were especially well written.

I have been trying to make sense of why Arthur and Mrs. Montague were even introduced because I agree that it seemed to take away from the tension building to that point. They were believers in the supernatural where the others were approaching it from more of a 'let's see what happens' so I guess that's one reason. Eager to hear other folks thoughts for why they were introduced.

it's interesting to hear from you all how much the Netflix show diverges from the book because I thought the way it was written was very much scenes in their time at Hill House.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Spoiler

I have been trying to make sense of why Arthur and Mrs. Montague were even introduced because I agree that it seemed to take away from the tension building to that point. They were believers in the supernatural where the others were approaching it from more of a 'let's see what happens' so I guess that's one reason. Eager to hear other folks thoughts for why they were introduced.

it's interesting to hear from you all how much the Netflix show diverges from the book because I thought the way it was written was very much scenes in their time at Hill House.

Yeah, I think having people who were bought in as a juxtaposition to the rest isn't a bad direction to take the story, but introducing them that late in the game was a mess. I had originally expected Dr. Montague to be the one filling that role, and the 'test subjects' so to speak to be the sceptics.

I haven't seen the Netflix series, but when I took a look at the summary on Wikipedia I had to double check I was even looking at the right page. It seems to keep the setting broadly and some of the character names, but change just about everything else. Apparently there was a faithful movie adaptation in the 60s and a much less faithful one in the 90s, which flopped pretty badly. The 1960s one actually sounded pretty interesting to me - I'm considering checking it out. Here's the summary for the Netflix show, for anyone who hasn't seen it;

In the summer of 1992, Hugh and Olivia Crain and their five children—Steven, Shirley, Theodora (Theo), Luke, and Eleanor (Nell)—move into Hill House to renovate the mansion in order to sell it and build their own house, designed by Olivia. However, due to unexpected repairs, they have to stay longer, and they begin to experience increasing paranormal phenomena, resulting in a tragic loss and the family fleeing from the house. Twenty-six years later, the Crain siblings and their estranged father reunite after another tragedy strikes them, and they are forced to confront how their time in Hill House has affected each of them.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

I'm a bit late to the party but I had a very busy September so I just started it! I'm listening to the audiobook version, so far it's pretty fun (I'm almost 25% of the way through)

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Ok I finished it!

Spoiler

I listened to it as an audiobook which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, I think I would have appreciated the prose a bit more if I read it myself. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't my favorite book. It fell somewhere in the middle for me. While I was very intrigued by it, it also felt a bit slow to me.

On your earlier point Cyndi, I had a more cynical take and thought that maybe they knew it wasn't smart to send her away like that but just wanted her out of the house for their own safety.

It was also way less spooky than I thought it would be, which is not a complaint.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

Spoiler: reply to Daphne's post

On your earlier point Cyndi, I had a more cynical take and thought that maybe they knew it wasn't smart to send her away like that but just wanted her out of the house for their own safety.

Ooh, thinking back I can see this too. I can't remember if it was stated directly but I got the sense they were between her and the house making sure the only way she was going was out and away from the house and them.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

I have also finished the book, finally!

Spoiler

I agree with everyone that the addition of Arthur and Mrs. Montague was a bit odd and threw off the tension the book was building up, and I can't remember if there was a mention of them coming to Hill House at all until they suddenly showed up? But I could be wrong. I did think some of Mrs. Montague's dialogue was quite funny as she kind of bulldozed her way into the routine of everyone. But I guess someone needed to come and move the plot along since everyone else was pretty content to just vibe lol. Not that I'm complaining I could have read a lot more of them just hanging out, especially whatever Eleanor and Theo were cooking up.

And then there's Eleanor :[ Sweet girl never stood a chance. Whether or not her breakdown was supernatural in nature I think could be up for debate. She was probably the mentally weakest out of the bunch and if there was some malicious entity it wouldn't be surprising if it tried to go after her. And I'm not sure if she was sent away for her own good at the end. She was obviously in distress but if the spirit Mrs. Montague had contacted was called "Nell" and odd things were happening referencing her mother, I don't know I just feel like better paranormal investigates would have tried to figure that one out a little harder. I think she broke social norms, like assuming all of Theo's playful promises were real etc., and became Too Much so they wanted to get rid of her. She wasn't stable and they didn't want to be responsible for her, and whatever she did when she left wouldn't be their problem. But maybe that's an uncharitable interpretation.

Overall, I really liked it! And I'm glad most people seem to have enjoyed it too. I think I might like her other book I've read a little bit more but now I really need to finish the book of her short stories I have.

re: the Netflix show, I only watched about half of it but looking back I can see the ghost (ha!) of the book peeking through. Like one of the siblings is names Shirley so the adaptation was LOOSE for sure.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Spoiler

And then there's Eleanor :[ Sweet girl never stood a chance. Whether or not her breakdown was supernatural in nature I think could be up for debate. She was probably the mentally weakest out of the bunch and if there was some malicious entity it wouldn't be surprising if it tried to go after her. And I'm not sure if she was sent away for her own good at the end. She was obviously in distress but if the spirit Mrs. Montague had contacted was called "Nell" and odd things were happening referencing her mother, I don't know I just feel like better paranormal investigates would have tried to figure that one out a little harder. I think she broke social norms, like assuming all of Theo's playful promises were real etc., and became Too Much so they wanted to get rid of her. She wasn't stable and they didn't want to be responsible for her, and whatever she did when she left wouldn't be their problem. But maybe that's an uncharitable interpretation.

You put this really really well - when I first saw Daph's post I was like 'hmmm idk about that' but its been a While since I finished reading & with the context here I'm definitely on board now. It's definitely consistent with the social mores of the time as well.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Spoiler

You put this really really well - when I first saw Daph's post I was like 'hmmm idk about that' but its been a While since I finished reading & with the context here I'm definitely on board now. It's definitely consistent with the social mores of the time as well.

I feel like soooo much of the tension in this book didn't even have anything to do with the house lol. All the social cues and tiptoeing around politeness was about as suffocating as the house. Since posting I watched a little video essay about Shirley Jackson and her themes of like domestic horror. It didn't cover Hill House but it talked a lot about social pressures and expectations and while that isn't the focus here you can still feel it.

I might be repeating myself a bit, but I swear if she had crashed her car a foot outside the gates they would have just shrugged their shoulders and been like "Oh well, she was obviously a troubled girl. She was so upset, you see why we had to send her home." but the fact that it's the tree in the yard that killed a previous owner of the house had more haunting (ha!) implications. Like they were partially in the right to send her home after the incident on the roof. But I think I still read it as like, oh finally we have a good excuse.