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A review by atlas_shruggs
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
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
4.0
This book felt very disturbing and trippy, but in such an excellent way.
One of Shirley Jackson's most notable works, We Have Always Lived in the Castle follows Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood and her sister, Constance Blackwood, as they try to live a normal life following the mysterious murder of their family. The entire village hates them and sees them as murderers, and seeing the way they treat the sisters through the eyes of Merricat, who reads as a young child, is very interesting.
The story was beautifully written, I was barely able to put it down once I started it. The way Shirley Jackson writes is so descriptive and haunting, the entire time I read this I felt this sense of dread in the back of my head.
I felt the plot twist was both fairly predictable and not, but that might be because I read this while flying from Croatia to Iceland on very little sleep.
I would highly recommend this book for someone who wants to get more into classics, especially horror classics, as the language is fairly easy and the story is easy to follow as well. Do look up trigger warnings though, as usual.
One of Shirley Jackson's most notable works, We Have Always Lived in the Castle follows Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood and her sister, Constance Blackwood, as they try to live a normal life following the mysterious murder of their family. The entire village hates them and sees them as murderers, and seeing the way they treat the sisters through the eyes of Merricat, who reads as a young child, is very interesting.
The story was beautifully written, I was barely able to put it down once I started it. The way Shirley Jackson writes is so descriptive and haunting, the entire time I read this I felt this sense of dread in the back of my head.
I felt the plot twist was both fairly predictable and not, but that might be because I read this while flying from Croatia to Iceland on very little sleep.
I would highly recommend this book for someone who wants to get more into classics, especially horror classics, as the language is fairly easy and the story is easy to follow as well. Do look up trigger warnings though, as usual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Mental illness
Moderate: Murder, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death