Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

by Shirley Jackson

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

Genre: Gothic Fiction

This one has been on my TBR for quite some time! The cover alone had me intrigued, and the premise most definitely pulled me in.

18 year old Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood lives with her older sister Constance and their uncle Julian in their family estate, isolated from the outside world. The people of the surrounding village hate them, not even trying to hide their contempt anytime Merricat goes into town for groceries. She hates them just as thoroughly—if not more—and desires more than anything to simply live her life undisturbed and safe with her sister in the confines of their secluded home.

But there is good reason for the Blackwoods to be so contemptible—and even feared.

Six years ago, the rest of their family was killed during dinner. The culprit? A fine dusting of arsenic-laced sugar over their blackberries. The only survivors were the three we have now: Merricat, who had been sent to bed without dinner; Constance, who never takes sugar on her food or drink; and Uncle Julian, who had just the smallest amount of poisoned sugar to barely survive.

So it’s been a rough six years. The small family lives in their own bubble of unerring routine, up-keeping and inhabiting the house where the murders took place.

Merricat is a child in an eighteen year old’s body, her mind a constant buzzing of imagination and wishful thinking. But as the story wends onward, some of her thoughts go down darker pathways, leaving the reader in a constant state of anticipation for what’s to happen.

Overall, the story flows quite nicely, though it did at times feel like not much was really happening. As for the “twists” in Merricat’s narration, it was easy to guess where the story was leading us. This isn’t as much a mystery as it is an atmospheric read and, even then, the atmosphere isn’t suspenseful or supernatural (which I had been hoping for). It’s mostly a look at the inner thoughts of young Merricat and how she has learned to cope these past six years, how their family has learned to keep going on despite the tragedy of their dark past.

This was a quick, enjoyable read even though it didn’t match up with what I was expecting. It was my first Shirley Jackson read, and I certainly look forward to reading more of her works.