Reviews tagging 'Classism'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

25 reviews

fiz23_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child death

Moderate: Classism, Dementia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Confinement, Deadnaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Violence

thereadingdude's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Murder, and Death of parent

hannahpings's review

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content and Grief

scheherazadeliest's review

challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Death of parent

shieldbearer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Another book read because it was a favorite of Suzanne Collins', I did not know what to expect going into this and I really enjoyed it. A deeply layered text with so much complexity, its ambiguity is also its brilliance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Child abuse

kimveach's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is my year to read more Shirley Jackson, and this short book, her last, was an excellent place to start. The story, told by the youngest sister, deals with classism, neighbors' perceptions, ostracization, and mental illness. It was deliciously creepy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Death, Eating disorder, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Misogyny, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

itsheyfay's review

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Death

vas_17's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Classism, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexism, Cursing, Murder, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death

alexisgarcia's review

dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

this was such an interesting book that is so hard to describe to others. it is a cozy gothic horror that was good but left a little to be desired. it would be such a good book club pick to discuss with a group

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Mental illness, and Murder

rachelunabridged's review

dark mysterious 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? No

3.0

I think this is gonna be my last Shirley Jackson read since I'm, unfortunately, not really feeling her work. There's no doubt that her writing is fantastic, but for some reason her stories and characters always fall flat for me. After being disappointed by The Haunting of Hill House, I thought for sure that this time I would get to jump on the Shirley Jackson bandwagon, but that just didn't happen. While I was drawn in initially by the mystery of the family and the questions surrounding the deaths, it took so long to really go anywhere (especially for such a short read), and the foreshadowing was obvious enough that I saw where the story was going way before it got there. Overall, an enjoyable read for the prose alone, but I wasn't able to get into the story as much as I hope; thus, a 3-star rating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Death, and Murder