We Have Always Lived in the Castle - (Penguin Orange Collection)

***Some spoilers***
I have only read Jackson's short story "The Lottery" and this book reminded me of that story. I wasn't expecting to read about shiny happy people with Jackson and the book certainly didn't disappoint in that respect. There were some very fascinating elements about the Blackwoods and the story in general but, as with the characters in The Lottery, no one was likable and no one was redeemable. I don't have an issue with unlikeable characters when there is a reason for their not being likable, but many characters here seemed cruel just for the fun of it and because of this, I felt they came off as two-dimensional. This lent itself to ending feeling contrived as well, especially with the townspeople suddenly feeling regret and trying to make up for it after they had been so cruel. I was very disappointed in the character of Charles. There was great potential to make a compelling story with Charles but the greedy relative angle was so lacking in complexity and eloquence that he was truly a cardboard character. I hate having to give a classic a less than stunning review and I did love the 1963 film The Haunting Of Hill House (and I suspect the book is much different than this story or The Lottery) and I do admire the fact that Jackson defied the happy suburban housewife image of her time to write disturbing fiction. But this was just a little too disturbing for me.

This is the only Shirley Jackson novel I have read. I had read some of her short stories, which I enjoyed, but this book was even better. I do suggest reading the forward, or introduction, after the book. I read it first, and it does contain spoilers. This book is unique and I certainly recommend it.

One of the previous reviews mentions preferring "the novel, 'The Lottery,'" which is dazzling. Yes, it is, but it is a short story.

This novel is also dazzling, and although the author keeps the reader in the dark for the first half of the book, enough clues are dropped so that by the middle to the end, the reader is riveted and incredulous. There is a building dramatic irony that holds the reader, because although the blame is clear, it is also spread around due to the actions of the parents and community leaders. This is a great book, but it must be read carefully because it is a mystery with an unreliable narrator. There is another edition with a scary cover. Personally, I prefer the book without the scary cover, because I think the scary cover gives too much away.

Such a good read! Merrikat is an impressive combination of creepy and whimsical that leeves you completely unsettled. Really all of the characters are cray-cray, but completely endearing. There's no way you can read this and pass by an "abandoned" house without wondering who's inside. The characters absolutely make this story, and even though it's a short read, you know them well by the time your'e through.

If someone could be described as deliciously evil, I guess it would be Constance Blackwood -- never eat her food if you reviled her good nature.

The central characters are Constance -- a late 20's spinster matriarch -- who tends to a few surviving relatives. Before the times outlined in this book, a meal Constance had prepared poisoned her mother, her father, her aunt and her uncle. Her uncle lived, but extremely infirmed. Her teenage sister Merricat (Katherine) lived without infirmity -- for reasons we learn later in the book.

The people are polite in a Victorian way. Merricat is tomboyish like Scout of "To Kill a Mockingbird." With the vast land holdings, Merricat's world is her "Secret Garden." Their world is brilliantly innocent in the land and home provided by their dearly deceased parents. Yet, their poisonous meal is complicatingly ferocious and conniving.

Constance's inner feelings about her place with the family are slowly revealed to us. But, not entirely. Much like the painting movements of the middle 20th century, this 1960's novel's minimalist disclosure of the girls' characters and reasons for Constance's murderous actions are the mastery of the art to which we view.

Many of the items herein may be symbolism at its sublest. Written post-McCarthyism era, the rioting judgmental crowd may symbolize more than small people with small minds. Constance may be more than a young spinster who is tired of parental pressures.

This is a page-turning book. Short in length, and fast in style, Jackson delivers a ghoulish, eerie, and creepy experience to us. Oh, what a great black and white movie this would make.

Shirley Jackson's story has a subtle creeping horror underlying a slow, marginally interesting story of two women living as outcasts in their historic, gothic family home, the products of scandal and fear.
This one takes a good amount of perserverence to make it all the way through to the end, and the end, while not entirely what the foreshadowing leads you to expect, is still pretty predictable. The benefit is that it's a quick read, and makes for fine rainy day reading when you're in the mood for something a bit creepy and otherworldly.

When I started reading this book of Shirley Jackson I started to get suck into this story it was incredible. Now that I'm done I have too buy another book of hers her writing is beautiful and the plots are so unexpected.

Disappointed... This was my first encounter with a novel by Shirley Jackson. I have read "The Lottery," (like pretty much everyone else) and enjoyed it. This book didn't live up to the hype. Going into it I didn't know what to expect. I felt cheated out of a good tale when I finished the last page.
Summary:
Mary Katherine lives with her older sister Constance and their uncle Julian in their family's house on the outskirts of a town. Constance and Uncle Julian never leave and Mary Katherine seldom does. All of the villagers despise and fear the Blackwood family because several years before the story, someone poisoned everyone in their family at dinner. The main suspect is Constance, but she was acquitted. Their cousin Charles comes to town to stay with them and is trying to find their massive fortune to steal is as his own. No spoilers beyond that

The conclusion is disappointing. The resolution takes almost 50 pages to end the story after the climax (which was a thoroughly underwhelming climax.) It didn't leave with any deep human truth like an episode from the Twilight Zone. We're just left with a semi-happy ending after a story with very little excitement.Most of the story is focused on the blackwood's agoraphobia and inability to resocialize with society. They are seen as strange and odd, thus propelling the plot with very little momentum.

I don't know what I was expecting but this wasn't it. Mary Katherine often talks about magic and ghosts and demons, but there is no supernatural element. More just an overactive imagination of a not-too-mentally-healthy young girl. But, like i said earlier, there's no real comment on the darkness of the human spirit either.

Disappointing, waste of time. Well written and deserving of a read if you want a Halloween read without any real fright, horror, or suspense

Grabs your attention right away. You think you know what is going on, but at the end you just say "Wow" I read it again right after to pick up the clues I missed the first time around. I really enjoyed this book.

A very intriguing cast of characters! Shirley Jackson does a fantastic job of letting you in a little bit at a time, making you want to read more. I really liked Merricat while at the same time feeling a little creeped out and haunted by her. Sometimes it was hard to decide who the "good guys" really were in this story. A great read!

Creepily atmospheric and original. Rather than tell a tight, self-explanatory story, the novel left lots of nagging questions about Merricat's motivations, the future of the Blackwood girls, and the nature of human hatred and redemption.

This play is a wonderfully done adaptation of the classic story We Have Always Lived in a Castle. I won't bog you down with a full fledge summary, but, if you are into whimsical, dark drama with a hint of comedy- you will love both the play and the novel version of this. I purchased this play to add to my ever-growing collection of plays. I thought this would add make a quirky and dark monologue if I ever needed, as a theater undergrad. Thanks the store!

Like many people my only experience with Shirley Jackson was having read 'The Lottery' in middle school. She caught my eye recently (is there a new biography of her, maybe?) and I thought I should give her a try. I started with 'Hill House' and became even more intrigued. 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' surpassed that, in my view. It's a small, unassuming tour de force. Jackson was way ahead of her time in understanding certain psychoses and reactions to horrible events (we see this in 'Hill House' too). The story here unwinds slowly and carefully but fascinates with each new passage. I couldn't put it down. Shirley Jackson...who knew?

Absolutely startling. I started and finished this book in an afternoon this past Saturday. I can't stop thinking about it. I actually began re-reading it. The characters are strange, the plot is twisted and you will be totally blown away by this novel. Creepy, perfectly odd, couldn't get enough of it.