by Shirley Jackson
Rating: ★★★★
Great stuff. Psychological thriller, sympathetic magic, properly respectful treatment of cats, and all the main characters are decidedly abnormal (in contrast with the horribly normal antagonists). An ending that is neither entirely happy nor entirely sad. We cannot celebrate the disheveled, unstable state of the sisters, besieged in what remains of their house, but at the same time it is still a livable life, there is still humour and good food, and Jonas bathing in the sun. They are left alone, which is enough, and probably best.