Recently Read: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Author: Shirley Jackson
Genre: Modern Classic
Page Count: 146
Publication Date: 1962
Rating: 4/5

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Also by Shirley Jackson:
The Lottery and Other Stories

The Blackwood family has lived in their mansion house for generations. New women move in each generation, bringing their own dishware with them, adding layers to the house, but the newest layer added to the Blackwood mansion is murder. Mary Kathrine's sister Constance has been accused of murdering her family, and although she was found innocent, the town refuses to forget it. 

As soon as I finished Jackson's short story collection, I treated myself to the beautiful Penguin Deluxe Edition of this novel as I knew I would love it, and I did. I am now eager to read everything Jackson put out. I read this one in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. 

This novel is eerie in the same vein as Jackson's short stories; Jackson doesn't rely on the supernatural or the paranormal to make the reader uneasy, instead she uses the everyday, and ordinary people, to create the eerieness of her stories. Jackson is a master at showcasing that the real monster is man (think Twilight Zone) and I love every minute of it. This story was extremely character driven, and I lover Merrikat as a narrator. Merrikat's narration of the story added a prefect veil of mystery over the story that mixed beautifully with the Gothic atmosphere of the mansion. 

This novel deals with themes of isolation and suspicion as well as loyalty and guilt. The novel leaves many questions unanswered, but gives you enough clues to come to a conclusion of your own. Many critics site this as Jackson's most personal novel as she was dealing with agoraphobia (fear of leaving her house) while she wrote this novel, which happens to have been her last completed project. Jackson's works are always an intimate and unsettling look into the human mind and human tendencies, and leave me feeling creeped out but so entertained. This is a book that would be great to discuss with other people, and something I would love to see on film. I know there is one film adaptation, but I don't know anything about it. Let me know it you have seen it! 

What's your favorite Jackson novel? I'll be on the look-out for her novels every time I visit a bookstore now!