LITERATURE: The Haunting of Hill House – Hooks

Just a page or two into this, but I’ve learned to try and post thoughts as quickly as possible (except in the case of Barthes, whose words I spend days disentangling to roll into some kind of ball that I can at least make a wild stab at interpreting).

This opening then, from Hill House:

No living organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.  Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.  (p. 3)

So many great writing tools in use here.  The hook:  hinting at insanity which is always interesting as a topic.  Throwing in larks and katydids, a reality that’s associated with peace, harmony, happy summer days and nights.  That’s a nice contrast to insanity, no?  And to assign them the ability to dream?  And to put it out as a supposition?  Brilliant work.

And then the coup-de-grace, bringing in Hill House as a living thing.  If living, and living a long time, therefore, to endure it has to be insane. 

Note the alliteration:  larks and katydids–the hard k sound softened by the image of the words.  And the next line:  Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within.  Could be lines in a poem.

Wonderfully well done.  I know I’m going to enjoy this book; likely for the story, and most certainly for the writing skill.

This entry was posted in LITERATURE and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.