Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

34 reviews

lifewithloopy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Bullying

Minor: Child death

omair's review

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

chananya's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief, Death, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Stalking, Violence, Self harm, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

claireafterall's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Murder

torismazarine's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Classism and Panic attacks/disorders

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

writteninmagic's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Dementia, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Murder, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

jmschnepp's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

We Have Always Lived in a Castle tells the story of Mary Katherine, Constance and Uncle Julian - the three remaining members of the Blackwood family. Mary Katherine narrates from her perspectives and experiences. The story begins with Merricat (Constance's nickname for her) in "the village". We learn that Constance hasn't left the yard since her family mysteriously died 8 years earlier. Its interesting to follow the train of Merricat's mind and the lengths to which she goes to maintain the life she believes she deserves.

The books was so well written, that I got caught up in Mary Katherine's story telling. She was authentic and transparent in her perspective of the world around her. However, not all that glitters is gold.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Mental illness, Confinement, Hate crime, and Murder

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

meecespieces's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Bullying, and Mental illness

Moderate: Ableism