We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Classic
Pages: 158
Goodreads
Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.
I know, what, I read a classic?! I wanted to read this book before watching the movie on Netflix and realized I actually already owned it because of the subscription NovelTea Book Club. Something else I realized after starting it – it’s by Shirley Jackson, who also wrote The Haunting of Hill House…which was terrible. So I was a little skeptical.
Turns out, this one was a bit better than The Haunting of Hill House. Now, by no means was this perfection, I only gave it 3 stars, but it was more enjoyable to me.
First, what I liked: I liked how the story of the family murder was told through Uncle Julian (who was the only survivor but was also unstable and did not fully remember the night). He would voice bits and pieces of the night randomly so it kept the mystery going while building it up. I also enjoyed the writing – it truly felt like you were in an unstable mind. Merricat repeated herself, rambled at times, and just had a generally wary voice. It was the writing, or Merricat’s voice, that really gave this book a creepy feeling.
Side note: The townsfolk were awful (but without them there wouldn’t be much of a story at all).
Now, what I didn’t like: It was pretty slow and boring at times. Mainly because of Merricat and her ramblings. So much of it really served no purpose other than to just show their daily lives. I almost quit the book, even if it is only 150ish pages. Also, the big reveal was pretty lackluster. While I didn’t fully know what the reveal was going to be, it was told to the reader in such a nonchalant way that I almost missed it. Maybe that was what Jackson was going for, since this whole book could probably be described as nonchalant. Maybe, but I was still a little disappointed by that. To add to the reveal, and this is a spoiler so…View Spoiler »
Overall, this isn’t a terrible book but also not a favorite. Since it’s so short, I do think it’s worth giving a try if this kind of book is your jam. Personally, I think it’s safe to say that I am not a huge Shirley Jackson fan.
*Technical issue note: Ever since I updated my UBB plugin, I cannot get my rating report to display properly. I contacted support for help. In the meantime, you’ll find my overall rating at the top in the book information and at the end of the review in the form of red stars.
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