Rating: 
Summary: This novel is a twisted tale that should be treasured
Review: This novel is a wonderful, delicous tale that only the late Ms. Jackson could possibly bestow on her fans. This novel is a deep journey into the psychological powers of us all. Merricat is a very real character, one that will and should be treasured by future generations as a wonderful priceless work of art. This is so much more than words on paper, this novel is a eerie lingering taste of true horror. Not the horror that authors such Stephen King or Anne Rice would write, not Shirley Jackson. This is another superb master-piece of psychological horror that can only be described as cryptic and beautiful. I HIGHLY recommended that you read this novel, it will teach you how to view circumstances and events in a different perscpitive...the Shirley Jackson perscpitive. I would love to rate this book with at least eight stars. ******** Wonderful, you won't be sorry if you read this. Constance is such a caring person, and Uncle Julian is so real that you actually begin to feel sorry for him. And Charles you will not like Charles. But Merricat, she is a divine work, a sweet little niave girl who wishes to live on the moon with Constance and Jonas, her cat. Breath-taking saga that only Shirley Jackson can create.
Rating:
Summary: Still hangs together despite the years.
Review: When I was in Junior High--what they refer to as "Middle School" these days--we occasionally had book sales to raise funds for various projects like the Prom or the Class Trip. One of the books I selected in those long past days was Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle." I was very impressed by her style. I still am! In the intervening years since high school, I took narrative writing classes to complete one of my degrees, and I can honestly say from that experience that Ms Jackson writes exactly and very successfully as they tell you how to write in such classes. There is a novel introduction; I mean, who can fail to be captured by a paragraph that tells you the narrator should have been a "werewolf" and ends succinctly with the statement that "Everyone else in my family is dead (p. 1)." The author builds mood and character by the use of carefully chosen words that project atmosphere, as when speaking of the village, she says, "The houses and the stores seemed to have been set up in contemptuous haste to provide shelter for the drab and the unpleasant (p. 9)." Already we sense there's something not quite right. Like Shakespeare's much touted Falstaff, however, the character of Uncle Julian adds a touch of levity that gives the tragedy of the story more impact. There is a good deal of detail, but despite this the story isn't just wordy or inflated to fill the requisit 200 pages. The detail makes the town and its residents and the two women in the "castle" much more real, and pull the reader into their story more fully than a more economical treatment would have done. A thorough delight. Miss Jackson's work still hangs together despite the years. For THOSE WRITING PAPERS: in narrative writing or English composition. Examine the book for key words that give each character their personality. What does the author tell you without actually telling it to you outright. Were you surprised by the revelations in the book? Were you surprised by the outcome? Compare writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Steven King or Peter Staub with Ms Jackson. How are they similar? How are they different? How is Ms Jackson's work "dated?" How is it timeless?
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