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We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Jackson, Shirley, 1916-1965. Book - 2016 Fiction / Jackson, Shirley, Adult Book / Fiction / Horror / Jackson, Shirley None on shelf 1 request on 4 copies Community Rating: 4.6 out of 5

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First published in the United States of America by The Viking Press 1962.
Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret takes readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Shirley Jackson's Second House of Genius submitted by andrewjmac on June 24, 2017, 9:56am The best novels leave you questioning the very nature of storytelling. Shirley Jackson doesn't leave you that way, she gets you there in the first ten pages. But once you think you've figured out what's going on (or at least how we got where we are), you are still questioning, questioning everything, right up until the end. Another incredible narrative voice from Jackson, author of perhaps the greatest ghost story (or not?) ever written, "The Haunting of Hill House."

***** submitted by shannonwait on August 3, 2018, 7:27am I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere and gothic style of Jackson's storytelling.

layer unfolds after layer submitted by camelsamba on July 13, 2019, 8:22pm I like how this book unfolds, later upon layer revealing new details and new truths.

Gothic Horror submitted by hrgray on June 13, 2024, 9:34pm This book has a creepy atmosphere and is filled with memorable characters. It's a very quick read, but if you liked "The Haunting of Hill House," you'll likely enjoy this as well.

Shirley Jackson and I would be best friends (or lovers?) submitted by landone on July 4, 2024, 11:52am Even though Shirley Jackson wrote this decades ago, her writing and the humor within it feels so relevant to today. This book in particular was very unsettling at first as Merricat told the reader what she wasn’t allowed to do, what objects could protect her family, along with her other rituals. The pacing of learning what really happened in the murder mystery involving her family was excellent, and I’m not upset about not knowing the motivations behind it. Shirley Jackson is so excellent at writing weird outcast girls, who I find to be VERY neurodivergent-coded. I would headcanon Merricat as having OCD, but I think there could also be some autism involved based on how relatable her thought processes were to me. There were also so many beautiful food descriptions, which I always love.

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SERIES
Penguin classics.



PUBLISHED
New York : Penguin Books, 2016.
Year Published: 2016
Description: 152 pages ; 21 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
0143129546
9780143134831

ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Lethem, Jonathan,

SUBJECTS
Sisters -- Fiction.
Families -- Fiction.
Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.
Social isolation -- Fiction.
Penny dreadfuls.
Psychological fiction.
Gothic fiction.