Book Review: The Missing Girl is a starter, an appetizer, a quick and easy introduction to the work of Shirley Jackson, the author of The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962). Notably excluded is her best and most (in)famous story, "The Lottery." Jackson's writing tends to fall into three categories: (1) the psychologically damaged young woman confronting an overwhelming world; (2) the normal, if naive, person whose life becomes confounding and untenable; and (3) the endearing, often humorous tales characteristic of her nonfiction about children as collected in Life Among the Savages (1953) and Raising Demons (1957). In The Missing Girl we have an example of each type. The title tale, published in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine in 1957, describes a girls' summer camp and reveals that our existence may not be as significant as we think. Perhaps life is more ephemeral and fragmented, perhaps some people are just barely here when other people are so self-absorbed. "Journey with a Lady," published in Harper's in 1952, falls into the third category: accessible, amusing, a slice of life. The third story, "Nightmare," fits into the second category. Unpublished until 1998, an average young woman finds that the city can be unwelcoming and bewildering -- sometimes paranoia is real. All three stories were included in the generous 1998 anthology of unpublished and published-but-uncollected stories edited by two of her children, Just an Ordinary Day. Jackson is sometimes classified as a horror writer. But rather than being scary or gory, her work is more an exploration of psychological dread and damage. If this inexpensive and entertaining selection sparks your interest, rest assured that Jackson's several other compilations, such as The Lottery and Other Stories, Come Along with Me, or Dark Tales, will provide equally varied and equally good and even better stories than those in The Missing Girl. [4★]
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