(Review) We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Hello all, and welcome (once again, to some of you) to my blog! I hope everybody had a wonderful Halloween. Let's get right to it!

To start, I was under the impression that this book was more creepy or haunting than it really was. At least, overtly so. I did not expect the subtlety and pastness with which the tragedy it was centered around was presented. However, after feeling slightly disappointed by the end, I realized that I shouldn’t have listened to BookTok at all — when somebody included it in a “spooky reads for October” list, I just went ahead and assumed it was horror, especially due to Jackson’s writing The Haunting of Hill House (which I have not read but which seems to be a horror novel). It was not, at least not obviously.

To start, the story revolves around two sisters who live on an estate with their sickly uncle. The first chapter reveals that the villagers of the town they live in hate them, though the details of why are revealed quite slowly (perfectly so). There is not much I can reveal about the storyline without spoiling, but one thing that is easy to pick up on, perhaps, within the first few chapters is that the younger sister is a bit odd, to say the least, voicing her violent fantasies and performing seemingly-magical rituals. The easiest way to put it is that she lives in her own world.

The whole time, there was something off-putting about the main character, and I loved the way Jackson withholds just the right amount of information. I loved the way she wrote Marricat, and the way her quirks were just so consistent — there was never a thread she presented that she simply dropped — every detail was beautifully woven in and never forgotten about. 

The characters were so wonderful to read, getting to know who they are, examining their good traits and bad. Some characters present a certain way, and due to the bias of the main character, who tells the story in first-person, we perhaps see different sides of them than we might have. I love it when a narrator is not omnipresent, as we learn things at the same time as the character we are following --- unless the author doesn't want us to, which was certainly used well by Jackson here, as well.

Overall, I would give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it, but it fell short, perhaps because I had guessed the “twist” that it didn’t come as a surprise to me. However, I also believe this was mostly due to my incorrect assumptions and expectations. I would definitely go back and read it again, in hopes of gathering any details I missed and to simply be there for the journey more than I was, not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the inevitable death to happen, or whatever it was I expected. I do truly wish that I had gone into this read with absolutely no expectations — I end up enjoying books a lot more when I do. So that is what I suggest: go into it not expecting overt, spine-chilling horror, and simply admire Jackson’s beautiful prose and odd characters.

As of now, I have begun reading Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted, which I have received several warnings about. I am very excited -- and am hoping it will deter the end of Spooky Season for just a little bit longer. Tune back in when I finish that one, and I hope you consider reading We Have Always Lived In The Castle!