I’ll start: Ernest Hemingway.
I have a ton of respect for him, he influenced so many writers and the craft of writing, and he lived a fascinating life. But I just find his books to be so damned dry. I love simplicity but I just feel like there’s no voice or soul in any of his books. There’s experiences but I don’t feel any passion or something that moves my heart. I guess his topics just aren’t for me.
What about all of you?
Shirley Jackson. I want to like her stuff. I’ve read Haunting of Hill House twice, hoping I missed something the first time, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and I just didn’t get them. I’m a huge horror fan and I respect what she’s done for the genre and for women in the genre, but other than The Lottery, her writing just doesn’t do anything for me.
The Haunting of Hill House has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. The rest…eh. Five years later and I’m still shocked by how little I cared for the book. Come to think of it, this might a case where the 60s film adaptation is vastly superior than the book.
The opening paragraph is amazing and super creepy. She’s clearly a great writer which is why it’s disappointing that her stuff doesn’t click with me. I agree, the movie is somehow much better even though the plot sticks very closely to the book.
The Haunting of Hill House has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve ever read. The rest…eh. Five years later and I’m still shocked by how little I cared for the book. Come to think of it, this might a case where the 60s film adaptation is vastly superior than the book.
Yeah, as a fan of hers, I think she shouldn’t really be thought of as a horror writer. Even psychological thriller is a misattribution. Her novels usually feel like personal dramas that are a bit intense.
Gothic maybe. But not horror.
Yeah, as a fan of hers, I think she shouldn’t really be thought of as a horror writer. Even psychological thriller is a misattribution. Her novels usually feel like personal dramas that are a bit intense.
Gothic maybe. But not horror.