erobstacles she encountered at least to a draw. Her success in the horror genre, like her successful domestic comedy, wasthe result of an exquisitely sensitive double vision that would have seemed an affliction to a less determined or talentedwriter. She saw the magic in the mundane, and the evil behind the ordinary. She saw that the line between the cruel andthe comedic is sometimes vanishingly narrow"(12). As Lenemaja Friedman points out Jackson's greatest strengths arein the "expert handling of humor, mystery, ambiguity, and suspense. Her wit and imagination have created off-beat andoriginal stories. Her characters are authentic, if often strange, people; and, as the critics point out, her prose style isexcellent. She chooses a simple, unadorned direct, clear manner of speaking to her reader. Her lines flow evenly,smoothly, and have a distinct rhythm. Despite the lack of critical attention, her books continue to be popular with thosepeople who are sensitive, imaginative, and fun-loving; and perhaps in the long run, that popularity will be whatcounts"(161). ...
