A review by h_scarf
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

“the last time i glanced at the library books on the kitchen shelf they were more than five months overdue, and i wondered whether i would have chosen differently if i had known that these were the last books, the ones which would stand forever on our kitchen shelf.”
merricat is one of my favorite narrators of all time. i find her deeply engaging and easy to sympathize with, despite...well. you know.

the multiple murders. and the sort-of-arson. and all the gaslighting. GOD FORBID women do anything.

as i told my friends, this book taps into the primal fear of someone uninvited coming into your house, refusing to leave it, and ruining everything that belongs to you. i deeply relate to constance's agoraphobia, so by the end when they're

living in their burnt castle, having become an urban legend to the rest of the world, it's a bit difficult to see it as anything other than victory. and for merricat, it truly is. she gets to live on the moon with her sister for all time.

additionally i love jonas very much!!