We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Rating:
Summary: a shrewd look at the ugly side of human behavior..
Review: 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' has the classic hallmarks of a Shirley Jackson novel - gothic weirdness, and exposure of unflattering underbelly of human/societal behavior. And the book is delightfully compact. Excellent prose and characterizations make for a very enjoyable read of less than two hundred pages.

The story? We have a rather imaginative (..to a disturbed extent) teenaged girl living with her older sister and invalid uncle in her "castle", a large estate home. Several years earlier the rest of their family were poisoned at the dinner table, with the older sister being the accused. Most of the neighbors view this family with extreme distain, encouraging a reclusive existence of the two young women. However this fragile ecosystem becomes unbalanced when a cousin arrives at the door. ... and that's about all I should say. The ending is very unexpected, and we learn a bit more about human behavior when the neighbors become restless.


Bottom line: a highly recommended story. Not scary, but a very well-observed look at a twisted family and the 'kindness' of neighbors.

Rating:
Summary: A DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY CARRIES ON...
Review: I am afraid that I am in the minority, as I found this book to be a little disappointing. Moreover, I find it hard to believe that Time magazine, at one time, had named it one of the ten best novels of the year.

The story revolves around a family that has sustained a major tragedy. Apparently, most of the family was murdered at supper one day via the introduction of arsenic into their food. Only three family members survive, sisters Constance and Mary Catherine Blackwood, and their elderly Uncle Julian. Constance, who always cooked for her family, was charged with their murder but aquitted at trial. The surviving three Blackwoods now live in splendid isolation in their mansion, as they are reviled by the villagers.

Mary Catherine, the younger sister known affectionately as Merricat, is a strange girl. Bright, imaginative, and compulsive, she has an assortment of rituals that she carries out in her daily activities, which are somewhat limited. She rarely ventures beyond the curtilage of her stately home, except for trepidaciously entering the village to get necessary supplies. Her sister Catherine, however, never ventures beyond the immediate perimeter of her home, though this is clearly something that she wishes to do. Uncle Julian is an invalid, living out his remaining days trying to figure out the mystery behind what had happened to his family that caused them all to be poisoned.

They are truly alone, except for the rare visitors who knew their family prior to the tragedy that took place. Even these few visits are almost too much for them. Still, Constance does her best to entertain them, although Merricat clearly wishes they would not come. Their highly structured world, however, is slowly torn apart, when Charles, a cousin, comes to visit them. He inveigles and tantalizes Constance with visions of having a normal life. Needless to say, Merricat and Charles do not get along, as she perceives him to be the enemy, seeking to disrupt her orderly, though dysfunctional, world.

The writing style is spare, taut, and, at times, quite compelling, as well as darkly humourous. Still, what happens to Constance and Merricat is no real surprise. What is problematic is one never really understands what makes Constance tick nor what makes Merricat do what she does. There is no resolution in the book, leaving the reader to fill in the blanks. While this a moderately enjoyable work, readers would do better to seek out Ms. Jackson's dazzling novel, "The Lottery", a much better, and more satisfying, book.

Rating:
Summary: Quirky, creepy and satisfying.
Review: I had to read "The Lottery" in high school; I'll always recall the impression that story had one me, with its ending of pure surprise. I had never read anything else by Shirley Jackson, and this novel's premise sounded interesting, and so I picked it up.

And I couldn't put it down. The narrator, Mary Katherine Blackwood is an eighteen year-old girl who behaves like a much younger child. She lives with her sister Contance, who years before was tried and acquitted of murdering almost the whole family by putting arsenic in the sugar bowl.

This novel is at once a mystery of what happened that one night when the family died, and a suspense thriller of what happens when cousin Charles comes to visit and seems as if he doesn't plan to leave, unless with the family fortune.

But, the most driving and irresistable part of the book is the quirky and creepy voice of Mary Katherine; she's child-like, naive, scheming and malicious all in one twisted voice. This novel is every bit as satisfying as "The Lottery."

Rating:
Summary: Easily digested at one sitting
Review: I read this book in one sitting, silently turning page after page, totally caught up in the story.

The story is written in very simple format, unravelling like a favorite and somewhat familiar mystery, and though largely predictable, the slim tome sticks to your hands by some supernatural force, and doesn't release you until the last page is turned and the last word read.

Mary Katherine Blackwood, known as Merricat, the main character, lives with her reclusive sister Constance and their Uncle Julian, the surviving members of a large family that came to a sad end through the consumption of arsenic laced sugar.

The intriguing Merricat tells the story, regaling the reader with her rituals, talismans and magic, but these alone are not enough to counteract the interloper, who threatens her familiar lifestyle, and tries to destroy the strong family unit.

The conclusion was not quite was I was expecting, being of macabre humor and vivid imagination, but was fitting and satisfying.

A haunting but not chilling read.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Shirley Jackson is one of my favorite authors. This book is sad and beautiful. I fell in love with the characters and have revisited this story many times. This is a book about love, acceptance, and mental illness. The author tells the story through the eyes of a girl who is "not all there". Most of the ideas this girl has are very strange which makes for a wonderful read. This book is very well written. I was sad to be finished with it. I wanted to flip right back to the first page and start over again! This is a book that will haunt you long after you put it down.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book
Review: The book, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson is an excellent but disturbed mystery with a little dark humor. In 214 pages, this book makes the reader realize how lucky they are that they have a loving and caring family. Nobody, not even Merricats family loved her, well that is when they were alive. One night while the Blackwood was having their usual tea after dinner, they were all mysteriously poisoned with the sugar they put in their tea. The person who did it must have known the Blackwoods pretty well, because they all loved sugar and always put it in their tea. Constance 28, Mary Katherine (Merricat) 18, and their great uncle Julian were the only survivor. They now struggle to keep their small family together. Merricat is off in her own world. She hates people and everything else in the world. Constance has never step beyond the gates of their property and Julian is very ill and handicapped. When their long lost cousin or so he says, Charles steps into their lives, everything turns ugly. Merricat does not trust him and is very suspicious of him. Put your feet in her shoes: As it is your life is tough, everyone in the world hates you, and you are locked up in an old castle for your whole life. Then this stranger, who says he is your long lost cousin and wants to be part of your family now. Then starts putting awkward thoughts into your sisters head, like "normal life" and "boyfriends". Your sister is your only hope for your life to continue and this Charles guy is trying to change everything. I would be a little nervous and suspicious around him.

That's all I am going to tell you about the book. Now you need to go out and get the book, and read it. I think you will really enjoy it. I know I did.

I would recommend this book to girls and boys of the ages 13 to 19, because those are usually your teenage years. Teenagers could definitely relate to this book because the main character is 18 years old. Some teens have family and friend problems and insecurities with themselves just like Mary Katherine, the main character in the book. I would rate this book four stars out of five stars, because this book was a wonderful mystery for teens, although the beginning was a little confusing and weird at times.

Rating:
Summary: A chilly, gothic classic from the author of "Hill House"
Review: The other major novel from Shirley Jackson. It doesn't have the devastating impact of _The Haunting of Hill House_, but that is like saying getting hit by a speeding van is less devastating than being run over by a eighteen-wheeler.

This is an aching, tragic novel of psychotic decline and clinging human dependence. Narrator Merricat is an amazing character, both repulsive and sympathetic as she tries to protect her sister and their life together from the villagers and the encroachments of cousin Charles. As in _Hill House_, the protagonist is obsessed with location and a need to belong, and it drives her ultimately to insane actions. Like Eleanor Lance, the main character in _The Haunting of Hill House_, Merricat continually removes herself from the rest of humanity.

Although the novel contains nothing overtly supernatural, it is filled with "living ghost" and haunts the reader the same way real ghosts would. Shirley Jackson was a stunning talent, and she dares you to forget he dark, stirring, psychological worlds she builds. Read _We Have Always Lives in the Castle_ for a trip into character you will never forget. (And if you haven't done so yet, read _The Haunting of Hill House_.)

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing...
Review: This book, at many times, seemed to be leading to some big climax. Unfortunately, it never happened. There were some great moments in the story but they were few and far between. I felt as though this were just a first draft of this book, and after a few drafts, it could be great. It has wonderful potential, but even with its short length, it was hard to get through. Pick another book.

Rating:
Summary: Read this on Halloween
Review: This is a book that will keep you hooked until the last page, and stay with you long after. I found it in the store at about five on Halloween afternoon, and when I next looked up it was seven and I was finished. This is brilliant, vintage Shirley Jackson, and probably crazier than 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'The Lottery' combined.

Teenaged Merricat Blackwood lives with her sister Constance on their family estate, in near total isolation from the hostile small-town community outside. Since the mysterious poisoning that resulted in the death of the rest of their family six years earlier, the sisters take care of their crippled Uncle Julian, the sole survivor, and enjoy their solitude. When a long-lost cousin Charles comes to them one day, Merricat senses that there is something sinister about him, and begins to desperately try to get him to leave.

First off, don't think that Merricat is your typical starry-eyed, whimsical teenage narrator. Unlike other young heroines, she's got a very dark streak. She's an introvert who has a penchant for burying things in the woods and imagines the villagers dying twisted, horrible deaths. Granted, they deserve her hostility, but like Eleanor in 'Haunting', you realize it's possible that the problems in the book exist solely in Merricat's mind. She's fantastically complex, one moment dreaming about living on the moon with flying horses, the next wishing that everyone would just die. This is a teenage narrator for 'Daria' fans.

Given that Jackson was living in isolation from her own hostile villagers when she wrote this book, it's easy to see Merricat as an extension of the author. Also, considering that Jackson was probably crazy at this point, the book feels very refreshing. The author didn't want to write a good, balanced story that would keep everyone happy. She gave us a one-way ticket into her mind, where some things were just twisted and warped, sorry to say. The sense of gothic claustrophobia works wonderfully well, and Merricat and Constance are absolutely fascinating. Jackson won't tell you what to think. You have to make up your own mind about these two. A perfect book for Halloween night.

Rating:
Summary: Read this on Halloween
Review: This is a book that will keep you hooked until the last page, and stay with you long after. I found it in the store at about five on Halloween afternoon, and when I next looked up it was seven and I was finished. This is brilliant, vintage Shirley Jackson, and probably crazier than 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'The Lottery' combined.

Teenaged Merricat Blackwood lives with her sister Constance on their family estate, in near total isolation from the hostile small-town community outside. Since the mysterious poisoning that resulted in the death of the rest of their family six years earlier, the sisters take care of their crippled Uncle Julian, the sole survivor, and enjoy their solitude. When a long-lost cousin Charles comes to them one day, Merricat senses that there is something sinister about him, and begins to desperately try to get him to leave.

First off, don't think that Merricat is your typical starry-eyed, whimsical teenage narrator. Unlike other young heroines, she's got a very dark streak. She's an introvert who has a penchant for burying things in the woods and imagines the villagers dying twisted, horrible deaths. Granted, they deserve her hostility, but like Eleanor in 'Haunting', you realize it's possible that the problems in the book exist solely in Merricat's mind. She's fantastically complex, one moment dreaming about living on the moon with flying horses, the next wishing that everyone would just die. This is a teenage narrator for 'Daria' fans.

Given that Jackson was living in isolation from her own hostile villagers when she wrote this book, it's easy to see Merricat as an extension of the author. Also, considering that Jackson was probably crazy at this point, the book feels very refreshing. The author didn't want to write a good, balanced story that would keep everyone happy. She gave us a one-way ticket into her mind, where some things were just twisted and warped, sorry to say. The sense of gothic claustrophobia works wonderfully well, and Merricat and Constance are absolutely fascinating. Jackson won't tell you what to think. You have to make up your own mind about these two. A perfect book for Halloween night.