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wishfulclickingThis post is solely based on the first chapter with me not having read the rest of the book. I wanted to make this post untainted by later events so I can maybe make some (wrong) predictions. Though this post is focused on the first chapter, I have finished the book, so feel free to comment on events beyond the first chapter.
From the first line of No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality: even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. I knew I was in for something weird and vaguely upsetting in that way really good horror can be. Jackson described Hill House next, putting it in the center of attention, as the thing that others react to.
At first, I thought the story would be centered on Dr. Montague and his aim of respectability while studying the occult; after the brief introduction of the assistants I thought it the narrative would swing back to him. One thing I did note that all the assistants are presented one way but hints are dropped that suggest they are more than what they are perceived to be.
The rest of the chapter zooms in on Eleanor, and from the outset her layered characterization shines. She’s someone of forced stunted social skills because of her role as caretaker to her mother (and I loved that note that she hated her just for the pause I took at the sentence), and she has a passively antagonistic relationship with her sister and her sister’s husband (the car argument was done so well in its passive aggressive familial spat vibe). But she’s also fierce in a quiet way, that once she’s set on something she does not give up; this is shown when she takes the car, but also when she stops at the diner even though Dr. Montague advised her against it. Her negative feelings only land on their designated marks; when she bumps into the old woman, she quickly tries to make amends.
When she’s traveling to the house I did note how each location that pulled her attention was wrapped in fantasy and her dreams of grandeur; perhaps her using the fantastic to describe these locations is a result of her forced situation where she didn’t get to develop many social skills, but I do like these dreamy sidesteps Eleanor takes.
The diner scene reminded me of so many horror films where there’s a small town nearby full of suspicious locals. As her distance to Hill House decreases, the ominous notes increase, reaching a high point in the confrontation with the groundskeeper, another moment where Eleanor retreats into fantasy for a moment before she tries her best to take control of the situation. With the rush of the groundskeeper meeting behind her (but not without another warning), Eleanor, again, pulls to fantasy to make a situation more palatable with the dream of the smuggler, but that train of thought is quickly cut off with the reality of Hill House and her first, immediate true thought: The House was vile [...] get away from here at once.”
From the first line of No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality: even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. I knew I was in for something weird and vaguely upsetting in that way really good horror can be. Jackson described Hill House next, putting it in the center of attention, as the thing that others react to.
At first, I thought the story would be centered on Dr. Montague and his aim of respectability while studying the occult; after the brief introduction of the assistants I thought it the narrative would swing back to him. One thing I did note that all the assistants are presented one way but hints are dropped that suggest they are more than what they are perceived to be.
The rest of the chapter zooms in on Eleanor, and from the outset her layered characterization shines. She’s someone of forced stunted social skills because of her role as caretaker to her mother (and I loved that note that she hated her just for the pause I took at the sentence), and she has a passively antagonistic relationship with her sister and her sister’s husband (the car argument was done so well in its passive aggressive familial spat vibe). But she’s also fierce in a quiet way, that once she’s set on something she does not give up; this is shown when she takes the car, but also when she stops at the diner even though Dr. Montague advised her against it. Her negative feelings only land on their designated marks; when she bumps into the old woman, she quickly tries to make amends.
When she’s traveling to the house I did note how each location that pulled her attention was wrapped in fantasy and her dreams of grandeur; perhaps her using the fantastic to describe these locations is a result of her forced situation where she didn’t get to develop many social skills, but I do like these dreamy sidesteps Eleanor takes.
The diner scene reminded me of so many horror films where there’s a small town nearby full of suspicious locals. As her distance to Hill House decreases, the ominous notes increase, reaching a high point in the confrontation with the groundskeeper, another moment where Eleanor retreats into fantasy for a moment before she tries her best to take control of the situation. With the rush of the groundskeeper meeting behind her (but not without another warning), Eleanor, again, pulls to fantasy to make a situation more palatable with the dream of the smuggler, but that train of thought is quickly cut off with the reality of Hill House and her first, immediate true thought: The House was vile [...] get away from here at once.”
no subject
Date: 2016-01-13 07:28 pm (UTC)I don't understand what "absolute reality" is and "even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream" just seems like Jackson is trying to sound poetic (and not succeeding), but I love the words "Hill House, not sane" - also the humour in "but skeptics, believers, and good croquet players are harder to come by today" :)
I am intrigued by the gifts
Owen WilsonLuke is given by friends of the family - or, not the gifts, but that they give him gifts. Why? Was that custom back in not that many decades ago? I'm kind of picturing cougars wanted to get him into bed?I'm always surprised - but in a good way; I learned something new! - when it turns out I have a romanticized view of the past: I was very surprised at the little old lady swearing "damn you damn you!" in the streets!
I liked Eleanor at first, and loved her taking the car from her rotten relatives,* and at first enjoyed her enjoying her drive. But her unrealistic fantasies kind of annoyed me, and at the end of the first chapter/part, I didn't like her as well as in the beginning.
In general, I find the writing good, and I finished the whole book in two days, yay. I'll be back with some comments on the rest of the book after people have had a chance to join the discussion on the first chapter without being spoiled.
*I hadn't consciously thought about it, but you are so right that the argument is so realistic.
P.S. House on Haunted Hill (1959) and House on Haunted Hill (1999)
no subject
Date: 2016-01-14 06:49 pm (UTC)From my reading, I took absolute reality to mean a place that allowed no kind of pretense for those in tune with it; there's a frequency the house emits and some were very susceptible (Eleanor, the servant who inherited the house) and others could sense it and be repelled by it (Luke, Theodora). Though, the whole lark and katydids dreaming part just seemed like attempted poetic excess.
I have no idea about the gifts thing with Luke; maybe it was just a cultural thing for a certain set.
The car stealing moment was the high point of my Eleanor liking feelings; the treks into fantasy did contribute a lightness and deceptive counterpoint to the tension of the ghost story, but staying tight to her pov while she went mad was tiring to a point, which I think Jackson was going for that claustrophobic feel. That moment of desperate clarity before the end was kind of great though.
I don't know if being aware of the common ghost story/haunted house diminished it for me; but I do know that the ghost/paranormal actions were just there, and I was more caught up in how the characters reacted to them and Eleanor's slide into her end.
The writing was good, I pushed through half and then had to go do other things, but picking it back up wasn't hard at all. I enjoyed how Jackson described things and was careful with the setting.
On Luke, I ended up liking him more than I thought I would just for the drops of comedy and his acceptance of being afraid all the time.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 05:31 pm (UTC)Yes, it was.
As we're now talking about the whole book:
Do you read the book as a ghost story? I read it as an excellent example of the fantastic, where we can't be sure that the characters' perceptions of what's going on isn't just all in their head. Two things especially point to this:
The scene where Eleanor and Theodora are out walking and are scared - where Eleanor sees the picnic, and what Theodora sees is unknown. The way the scene of their return is written is definitely meant to indicate Theodora did not experience what Eleanor did.
Mrs. Montague and Arthur Parker's view of the supernatural are obviously mocked in the book and not meant to be taken seriously - what they experience is heavily indicated as something they (subconsciously) make up: they see what they want to see. But that also opens up the possibility of interpreting Dr. Montague et al.s' experiences as equally all in their heads.
Apart from the knocking doors scene, which really did scare me, this aspect of the story (are there supernatural going-ons or not?) is the best part of the book for me, and very well executed by Jackson!
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 08:58 pm (UTC)Foremost, I see this book as being a strong example of near perfect psychological horror. I went in expecting a full on ghost story--a reveal of one actually being there, and that's why I especially thought something was going to happen to Luke at some point with him being an ancestor and all; but Jackson maintains an ambiguity, and never really lets certainty stand--Dr. Montague's wife made me question the reality of it all. Because, like you said, Dr. Montague, and the narrative, make her and her friend look silly and prone to choosing what they want to see; but that is what Dr. Montague is doing as well. When I first read his part in the first chapter, I noted that he was seeking a level of validity and prestige in the supernatural.
None of the characters who stay in the house for a long time are actually changed; Eleanor was in distress before she came, and so much of her story is her being open to what Hill House could represent because she seeks a fantasy. Eleanor's growing madness is real, but it can't be certain that it was ghost induced or a possession. The paragraph when she's running into the tree could have a moment that maybe could be the serving girl who killed herself taking hold, but that isn't definite.
Both readings are valid to me. I like my ghosts story to have an actual representation of a ghost; so I lean more towards psychological horror. It makes me think of somewhat of The Heart of Darkness that is not supernatural, but the setting definitely has a character that reflects the characters' descent.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 08:40 pm (UTC)I think I like the fantastic the best - when it's not possible to say for sure one way or the other. I'm trying to think of ghost stories in literature that I liked. Eh, have read? My mind is all blank, all I can think of is the ghosts in Harry Potter :)
Oh, there have been a couple of fanfics that were super-creepy ghost stories - that SGA one and the Sentinel one. And obv. lots of SPN fic - most notably Somatic, which is gorram brilliant, one of the most finely crafted fics I have read.
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Date: 2016-01-20 09:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-23 08:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 05:39 pm (UTC)Eleanor's discovery of freedom and potential is wonderful to read, I can feel her rush from it, all her dreams and the possibility of a life different from the one she has had. Her imagination is wonderful and possibly under-stimulated. But we are also told she draws - and there are art supplies in her car with her - so perhaps this is another way of showing us her artistic mind. Sadly, my sample chapter cut off before the diner scene, but I think I will have to return to the book and get the whole thing read.
Thanks for choosing this one - and hosting :)
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Date: 2016-01-17 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 08:00 pm (UTC)I think I picked up on it because her drawings were mentioned, and I had not expected it, so it kind of stuck with me.
I liked her process around taking the car - and the awkward family discussion preceding it - but esp. her treatment of the little elderly lady.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 08:00 pm (UTC)Anyway, I think the premise is super great, and the first section is not really enough to give a feel for how the book will play out. But I do love the idea presented that the house has a personality of its own. I generally love it when houses are characters in stories!
The idea of the doctor reminds me a lot of Crimson Peak, and so it wasn't surprising but still delightful to discover that Guillermo del Toro curated the title for a Penguin horror series <3
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 08:42 pm (UTC)I did like how the house did feel like a viable presence at times.
The first section does a good job of setting the stage, but I do think the book is strongest as it builds.
Dr. Montague would completely try to study the house in Crimson Peak if he could. I don't know if the preview offered it, but Del Toro's introduction was a great read as well, discussing the nature and necessity of horror.
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Date: 2016-01-17 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 08:01 pm (UTC)