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The Lottery, and Other Stories  By  cover art

The Lottery, and Other Stories

By: Shirley Jackson
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Gabrielle de Cuir, Kathe Mazur, Stefan Rudnicki
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Publisher's summary

A powerful collection of short stories by Shirley Jackson.

"The Lottery," one of the most terrifying stories of the twentieth century, created a sensation when it was first published in the New Yorker. "Powerful and haunting," and "nights of unrest" were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Jackson's lifetime, unites "The Lottery" with 24 equally unusual stories. Together they demonstrate her remarkable range - from the hilarious to the truly horrible - and power as a storyteller.

©2014 Skyboat Media (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Featured Article: The Haunting of Hill House—Book vs. Show


Shirley Jackson was inspired to write the novel after reading about a group of psychic researchers who spent time in a house believed to be haunted. In an essay, Jackson explained that she was less interested in the investigation itself and more intrigued by what could be learned about the people conducting the investigation. If you're a fan of the super creepy Netflix series, here's the lowdown on how the two chilling incarnations stack up.

What listeners say about The Lottery, and Other Stories

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Slow Burn

Deceptively normal-seeming, hypnotic prose delivered by especially talented readers. Mid-20th century suburban hysteria, wars waged with manners, Women on the verge of abject instability. Shirley Jackson is one of a kind (although there is a similar prosaic mastery to Flannery O'Conner's) Anything can happen! (Watch out for Jim/James Harris, tall writer in blue!🤡)

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5 people found this helpful

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WHAT A VOICE LINE UP

Shirley Jackson is a masterful and compelling story teller so I was wary about getting an Audible version. It would take a special bunch of voice actors to do her justice. Well, damned if they didn’t hit it out of the park! Soo good, good, good.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Don’t Bother

Maybe 3 really good stories, but that’s about it, and one of those is The Lottery, so slim pickings.

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the tune

clever writing in horror of the home. the subtext of domestic norms and oddities of family and friends

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heart breaking

this series is a quiet look at how horrible day to day life can be and the complete lack of empathy that humans have with each other. every chapter you long for a happy ending and pray for the players, but it never comes. the world is a bad place.

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6 people found this helpful

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Written in the 40s. Entertaining Still

Much like Flannery O Connor short stories I know the characters will end badly, but I still hope. The Lottery could work as a Twilight Zone episode or a scene in a dystopian movie. An interesting outlook enjoyed by one who despises Hollywood endings.

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Feels unfinished

If you like compelling stories, this is for you. If you like closure, maybe it’s not for you. Each story feels about 80% complete, the narrative building until you think, “Oh, that’s odd...”, then just ending. No explanations, no closure. Just well written stories that leave you wondering what just happened and why.

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terrific discovery

i had never heard of shirley jackson before. the voice reading the sample instantly convinced me that i wanted to hear more of the same.

the stories turned out to be just great. they're from a certain historic era. they're like norman rockwell paintings in stories, or like the early roald dahl stories from his "kiss kiss" period. perhaps more simply written, keeping to the surface of the stories, with no overly complex layers of story-telling, or difficult words. the stories seem to have been written for a readership equally happy to be read these stories to at age 8 or 18 or even 88. i could easily see these stories becoming favourites of high school readers around age 15, not least because most of the stories reverberate with a certain uncanny element -- not horrible enough to frighten the reader reading the book alone in a house around midnight, but still making him or her shiver with a certain frisson. the world of the author would be utterly familiar to any american reader, and i could easily imagine any american comic artist illustrating these stories or reworking them into quietly unsettling weird tales. in short, i certainly plan to read everything else by this author that i can get my hands on. (later addition: and i did!)

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Interesting Shorts with super narration

I listened to this book as there has been a bit of press on Ms. Jackson recently. Her stories are mesmerizing and pull you into each character.

On a further note narration was fantastic! There’s nothing worse than getting a super book with disappointing narration. I highly recommend this book. Great all around.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Good

This was a good book. The lottery was good! It’s just hard to know when a story ends and another one begins. I read that in another review and I concur.
This was probably really scary when it was first published.

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