January 26 Meeting - "Louisa, Please Come Home" by Shirley Jackson

The Author

image source: Wikipedia

Author Overview

Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) was an American writer best known for her unsettling, psychologically rich stories that explore the dark edges of everyday life. Although she wrote novels, memoirs, and humorous essays, she is most celebrated for her mastery of the modern Gothic short story—a genre in which ordinary settings gradually reveal disturbing truths.

Early Life & Influences

Jackson was born in San Francisco and grew up on the West Coast before moving to the East Coast for university. She had a complicated relationship with her family, especially her mother, who often criticized her. Many scholars see echoes of this tension in her stories about fractured families, vulnerable daughters, and individuals who feel misunderstood or alienated.

Writing Career

Jackson gained wide attention in 1948 with “The Lottery,” a short story published in The New Yorker that shocked readers with its calm description of sudden brutality in a small town. The enormous reaction solidified her reputation as a writer capable of exposing the darker side of human nature—and of society as a whole.

Over her career, she wrote:

● Short stories that blend realism with psychological horror

● Novels, including The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, now considered classics

● Essays and memoirs, which reveal a funnier, more domestic side of her personality

This contrast between her chilling fiction and witty personal essays surprised many readers and shows her range as an author.

Themes in Her Work

Jackson’s writing often explores:

● Identity and self-perception

● Family dynamics and social pressure

● Alienation and outsiders

● The gap between appearance and reality

● The hidden cruelty of everyday life

She had a talent for taking ordinary situations—family life, small towns, social expectations—and revealing the deeper psychological forces underneath.

Style

Her style is typically:

● Calm, controlled, and subtle, even when disturbing things happen

● Character-driven, focusing on mental and emotional states

● Ambiguous, leaving space for interpretation

● Rich in irony, with understated humor or tension

This understated approach makes her stories powerful: she rarely tells readers how to feel, allowing the psychological unease to grow quietly.

Relevance to “Louisa, Please Come Home”

This short story is a good example of Jackson’s interest in:

● How fragile identity can be

● The complexity of family relationships

● How people can fail to see what is directly in front of them

● The emotional cost of independence and escape

It also shows her classic blend of the ordinary and the unsettling, where a simple situation (a girl running away) turns into something deeper and more disturbing.

 

YouTube  Channel- Books 'n' Cats - How Shirley Jackson exposed the horror of home life

The Book

image: OpenAI

Louisa, Please Come Home is a haunting short story by Shirley Jackson, first published in 1960. It follows Louisa Tether, a young woman who decides to leave her family on the day before her sister’s wedding. Without drama or explanation, she slips away, moves to another city, and carefully constructs a new identity. For three years she lives quietly and comfortably, certain that she has escaped the pressures and expectations of home. Her life only becomes complicated when she listens to a radio program discussing her disappearance, a moment of curiosity that triggers her eventual return.

The story reaches its unsettling climax when Louisa presents herself to her family—only to discover that no one believes she is who she claims to be. Jackson brilliantly exposes the fragility of identity and the disturbing possibility that the people closest to us may fail to truly “see” us.

Upon publication, the story was highly praised and won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Short Story in 1961. Its impact lay in the way it challenged American notions of family, belonging, and recognition. With this piece, Jackson reaffirmed her mastery in transforming ordinary situations into psychological nightmares, solidifying her reputation as a sharp observer of social unease.

December 25 Meeting - "Ghost Wall" by Sarah Moss

The Book

Amazon

Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall is a haunting and compact novel that explores the intersection of past and present, power and oppression. The story follows seventeen-year-old Silvie, who joins her father, a history enthusiast obsessed with Iron Age Britain, on an experimental archaeology trip in the North of England. Alongside university students and their professor, the group attempts to live as ancient Britons once did. What begins as a curious exercise in historical recreation slowly turns into something darker as Silvie’s father’s fanaticism and brutality come to light. Moss deftly weaves themes of patriarchy, class, and control into a tense and atmospheric narrative. With its lyrical prose and unsettling emotional depth, Ghost Wall examines how the ghosts of history linger in modern life and how violence—both domestic and cultural—continues to shape identity and belonging.

The Author

Royal Society of Literature
Image credit: Sophie Davidson

Sarah Moss is a British novelist and academic known for her precise prose, historical awareness, and exploration of everyday anxieties. Born in Glasgow in 1975, she studied English at Oxford University, where she later taught literature and creative writing. Her fiction often blurs the boundaries between the domestic and the political, delving into themes such as family, gender, and societal constraint. Moss’s works include Cold Earth (2009), Night Waking (2011), Bodies of Light (2014), The Tidal Zone (2016), Ghost Wall (2018), and Summerwater (2020). She has received widespread critical acclaim for her ability to combine lyrical storytelling with psychological and social insight. In addition to her novels, Moss has written nonfiction, such as Names for the Sea, recounting her experiences living in Iceland. She currently teaches creative writing and continues to be one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British fiction.

Supporting documentation for preparing the meeting

> About the Author: Sarah Moss

> Worksheet & Questions to spark discussion. "Ghost Wall" by Sarah Moss

External Interesting Video Links

YouTube - Life Lessons FromBooks - Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (Book Review and Study Notes)

YouTube - History Hit - What Was Life Like in Iron Age Britain?

What are you reading? The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson

Noelia's contribution

Amazon

After devouring Swimming in Paris, I was craving a lighter read and stumbled upon The Ocean Between Us by Gill Thompson. I expected something breezy, but the story’s nuanced characters and moving themes of separation and resilience added an unexpected emotional depth that truly surprised me.

The novel revolves around a lost generation of children shipped from England to Australia after World War II. The narrative follows Jack, a young orphan who loses his mother during the Blitz, is placed in an orphanage, and is eventually transported to Australia. Meanwhile, an unknown woman suffering from memory loss wakes up in a hospital, searching for something deeply meaningful to her.

One of the novel’s most powerful themes is the destruction and rupture of family life. Thompson also exposes the heartless government policy of sending orphans abroad to “repopulate” countries like Australia with so-called “pure white blood.” The care of these children was entrusted to religious orders that, instead of nurturing them, subjected them to sexual abuse and forced labor. Finally, the story explores the profound grief that follows loss—and the painful, often incomplete process of acceptance.

Amazon - About the author

Gill Thompson draws on real historical events to craft a narrative that leaves a lasting impression. She delves into the complexities of friendship, loyalty, and love in all its forms, while shedding light on the harrowing experiences of English orphaned children abused by the Christian Brothers in Bindoon, Australia. Thompson also condemns the Australian government’s long-standing inaction, which allowed these atrocities to continue unchecked for years.

The Ocean Between Us is a deeply affecting and beautifully written novel that confronts a dark chapter of history with honesty and compassion. It’s a story of loss and injustice, but also of endurance, hope, and the unbreakable strength of the human spirit.

External interesting links

> News.com.au - Royal commission told of torture, rape and beatings by Christian Brothers in WA

> Independent - Bindoon Boys Town: The sad truth behind Britain's lost children

> BBC News - The child abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad

November 25 Meeting "When Mr. Pizarda Came to Dine." by Jhumpa Lahiri

 The Book

When Mr. Pizarda came to dine.

What’s it about?

A historic divide. (image: OpenAI)

This story follows a young girl's perspective as her parents host Mr. Pirzada, a Pakistani man, in their home during the tumultuous time of the India-Pakistan war. It explores themes of displacement, cultural identity, and the impact of political conflicts on personal lives.

What historical context is to be taken into account for a better understanding of the story?

Partition: Why was British India divided 75 years ago? 

When Britain granted India independence, 75 years ago, the territory it had ruled over was divided, or partitioned, into India and the new state of Pakistan (with East Pakistan later becoming Bangladesh).

The India-Pakistan conflict has been one of the most enduring and volatile issues in the modern world. This conflict has its roots in the partition of India in 1947, which created two independent nations, India and Pakistan. Since then, the two countries have engaged in multiple wars and border disputes, resulting in a complex and dynamic history.

This created an upsurge of violence, in which approximately 15 million people were displaced and an estimated one million died.

India and Pakistan have remained rivals ever since.

The story we are reading this month is included in the book “The interpreter of maladies”,A collection of hort stories that explores the lives of Indian immigrants and their struggles to navigate between their heritage and their new identities in America.

The stories in "Interpreter of Maladies" often revolve around the theme of communication, highlighting the ways in which people struggle to express themselves, understand others, and bridge cultural and emotional divides. The narratives shed light on the profound impact of both verbal and nonverbal communication on relationships and human connection.

Lahiri's stories poignantly explore the challenges and complexities of cultural identity and displacement, portraying characters who grapple with the tension between their heritage and their adopted homes. The narratives offer profound insights into the ways in which individuals navigate their sense of belonging in the face of cultural dislocation.

The Author

Click on the image to go to the January 25 post

External interesting links:

> BBC - Partition: Why was British India divided 75 years ago?

> A video  to shed some light on the different conflicts over the years till  now:

YouTube - History on Maps - History of India-Pakistan Conflict Explained on Maps

YouTube - Partition - The Day India Burned BBC 2007 (Full Documentary)

November 25 meeting "When Mr. Pizarda came to dine" -DISCUSSION QUESTIONS .

Some questions to fuel your creativity and understanding of the text:

1. What have you learnt about the conflict which has directly affected Mr Pirzada’s family?

2. “Mr Pirzada is Bengali (from Bangladesh), but he is a Muslim.....therefore he lives in East Pakistan, not India.” Why?

A summary of Dacca’s history (from Wikipedia):

Under British rule, the city saw the introduction of electricity, railways, cinemas, Western-style universities and colleges, and a modern water supply. It became an important administrative and educational centre in the British Raj, as the capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam province after 1905.[29] In 1947, after the end of British rule, the city became the administrative capital of East Pakistan. It was declared the legislative capital of Pakistan in 1962. In 1971, the Pakistan Army, backed by Islamists, created radical religious militias. Members of the Pakistani military and supporting militias engaged in mass murder, deportation and genocidal rape, pursuing a 

systematic campaign of annihilation against nationalist Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, religious minorities and armed personnel. The capital, Dhaka, was the scene of numerous massacres, including the Dhaka University massacre. An estimated 10 million Bengali refugees fled to neighbouring India, while 30 million were internally displaced. India decided to take part in the conflict. Pakistan surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December 1971, in what remains to date the largest surrender of armed personnel since the Second World War, Dacca became the capital of an independent Bangladesh and is now the second most populated megacity only after Calcuta.

3. We see how the TV coverage of the Indian-Pakistan conflict is depicted along the development of the story? Can you comment on it?

Page 34: “As weeks passed it grew more and more rare to see any footage from Dacca on the news.”

 Is it similar or different from how these violent wars are reflected in the news presently?

4. To your view, to what extent does Mr Pirzada seem concerned about his city Dacca, and his wife and daughters’ well being?

5. Can you comment on Lilia’s habits as a family?

6. Lilia, Mr Pizarda, Lilia’s parents… Can you give your opinion on how they influence each other’s lives?

7. We know that Mr Pirzada is a Muslim, what about Lilia’s parents? What jobs do they have? Do both of them work?