Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

22 reviews

aristarcodisamo's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Dementia, Murder, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Gaslighting, Violence, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Bullying, Alcohol, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury

omair's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A story where the mystery isn't a mystery and the absurd is treated as creepily mundane... and yet I found myself enjoying it. The juxtaposition for what I was feeling to what Merricat was feeling or saying was handled brilliantly that I can only assume it was intentional. If I were to plant myself in this world, I would almost certainly see things the way the villagers do, yet reading from the POV we have, I want to side with our main characters...

which an insane thing to say about a pair that are made of quintuple murderer with little remorse and a no-hesitation accomplice!

And yet in such a short space, powerful themes of gender roles, sexual identity, family trauma, possibly abuse, and severe mental illnesses are liberally sprinkled in along with commentary on individuality, agoraphobia, societal norms, greed, maturity (and familial responsibility in raising a child), and so much more. So much of what happens is left with such vague motives that the answers feel simultaneously obvious and yet impossibly absent.

The deeper I found myself into the book,

the more the reliability of the narration came into question

, and the more I felt a need to re-read sections to convince myself I didn't misunderstand or even completely miss details. Sympathizing with our protagonist even as

her twisted world and controlling mannerisms became more crystal clear

felt as confusing as the plot - in a good way - for me. I can certainly understand why this would not be the right cup of tea for everyone, but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed...

even though I certainly wouldn't take mine with any sugar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Ableism, Abandonment, Sexism, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Child death

jomjom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Incest

miilk's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death

suhbreenah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Classism

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

In traditional Gothic horror fashion, this story by Jackson makes just enough sense to keep you engaged. The characters are just this side of realistic. The story is believable, yet horrifying. The fact that they continuously discuss the day that the entire family was murdered via arsenic poisoning (by one of the sisters discussing it) is morbid and disturbing. And yet, I found myself in full adoration of the sisters in this story. I loved how well they took care of one another. I also found the story to be full of humor. I liked "The Lottery" better, but I really enjoyed the macabre this story has to offer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Murder, Ableism, Child death, Misogyny, Bullying, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Child abuse

takarakei's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm not much of a classics or horror reader (even tho it wasn't scary horror imo), so this wasn't really for me. But I think I can definitely see the influences of this book into modern horror media.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent and Mental illness

Minor: Child abuse

toastrats's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Classism, and Emotional abuse

henriediosa's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I love Merricat's style of narration and how the two sisters look out for each other. If you're looking for a non-romantic version of a fucked up love story, this is it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, and Bullying

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Emotional abuse and Child abuse

There is an unreliable narrator who engages in a lot of magical thinking and has her own sense of morality. She's prone to daydreaming and wishing death upon people.