Reviews tagging 'Murder'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

214 reviews

abookwormspov's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.75

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flordemaga's review

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dark funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

Didn’t capture me. Took me too long to read for such a short book. I don’t know, just not my thing. I don’t have any specific criticisms, I just didn’t like it. 
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daffodilling's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

Lyrical but simple writing style. Captivating and curious narrative voice. Short. Will try to read more by Shirley Jackson.
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ohsnapsabrina93_'s review

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dark sad tense slow-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

3.5

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lifewithloopy's review against another edition

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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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omair's review

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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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mattypallett's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

Loved the almost storybook gothic vibe at beginning of the book. Thought the middle dragged slightly. Ended very strongly.

Merricat is absolutely unlikeable and unreliable as our main character, and the book is a whole lot better for it. I feel like I’ll have to give this a reread to truly cement my opinion on the truth of the events of the book and how much of it actually happened as it was described. 
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clovetra's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious 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

4.0

first classic of the year and i am thoroughly impressed!
i think this is also my first time reading a gothic? and tbh don’t ask me what defines a gothic but all i know is that i loved this.
i’ll say the only reason this isn’t a 5 star is simply due to a pet peeve. the introduction by jonathan lethem should’ve been an afterword. not only did it lowkey spoil some plot elements to me such as the culprit of the arsenic poisoning, but it also spoiled the introduction of charles and the two girl’s personalities. i read the introduction before i began the novel and i’ve just gone back to reread it and although some elements should’ve been in a foreword, like background about shirley jackson’s life, i think things directly related to the plot should’ve been placed at the end.
other than though how i adored this book!
my favourite part was easily seeing merricat. i’ve never seen any story in any form ever with such a unique character as merricat. she is whimsical yet terrifying, and i loved seeing the book from her point of view. constance was beautifully characterised as well, although i will say she left me with a lot of questions! uncle julian was probably my least favourite character as he was the least fleshed out and was kind of filler i felt, but he still served his purpose. charles can go jump off a bridge sorry i love merricat and he had it out for my girl!!!!!!!! death to charles blackwood.
the way shirley jackson writes in this book was so spectacular, i was transfixed. i almost didn’t want to read this book not because i was bored, but because i knew the more i read the less i would have to enjoy. sometimes i’d be starring up at my ceiling just reimagining past chapters i’ve read, which honestly not many books have had me pondering them that deeply. i love the characterisation of the town as well, i just wish there was a tad more explanation as to why they hated the blackwoods (although ngl i could’ve just missed that, or it’s just because they think they’re murderers and/or weird).
anyways i really enjoyed this book and could defo see myself dabbling in some more gothic books in the future!
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ratb4g's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Immaculate vibes. Time to read more by Shirley Jackson. 
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samuriah's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

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