Review by syntheticat - We Have Always Lived in the Castle

syntheticat 's review for:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

4.0

challenging dark reflective 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: Complicated

This book was..... fascinating. I won't lie, I was confused for a large portion of the first few chapters as the jumbled neurosis of the main character, Mary Katherine "Merricat", slowly revealed the reality of the world she was living in with her sister. The story is centered around a heavily dysfunctional family, with each member living a strange half-life. Neuroses, agoraphobia, and 'eccentric' characters rule over the pages. However, even though I was not sure what the truth of the family was, I was absolutely drawn in. Everything came together in such an interesting way and all mysteries revealed in the latter half of the book. It's extremely well-written, and Jackson did a brilliant job. That being said, it's one of the stranger books I have read for sure.

Content Warnings