A review by aimeepauls99
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

loved it. very easy to read classic, still with so much metaphorically going on. themes of class consciousness, consumption, food, feminism, occult symbolism, youth and crime, true crime/tragedy and spectacle, entitlement and access to resources and so much more. not quite 5 stars because i would’ve liked more on the sisters exploring their complicated grief (?) for their family, merricat’s motivations to commit her crime from her perspective and her time in the orphanage missing out on her sisters trial, and why her sister even took the public blame for all that (maybe because she was purposefully spared?) but i also like that it’s up for interpretation. kind of goes with Shirley Jackson’s whole thing, the readers really aren’t entitled to that from the sisters. we’re shirley jackson stans now.