We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson [Book Review]
Summary
“Taking 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.”
-From Amazon.com
Review
This book honestly was not even on my radar until I saw a trailer for the movie coming out soon. So immediately I had to read the book. I adored Jackson’s other book, The Haunting of Hill House, and was really curious about her other works. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with this wonderful read.
A perfectly manageable size.
This book is honestly the perfect length. It’s about 150 pages and a relatively quick read. With my course load at the moment, I’m trying to avoid really meaty texts (which is why Anna Karenina is taking me so long to get through) so something that is more bite sized is my style. But don’t be fooled that just because it is a small book doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot going on with lots of underlying meanings and messages.
A slow beginning and then suddenly a twist happens.
This book isn’t going to keep you on the edge of your seat or biting your nails, like I’m sure the movie will. The movie, while looking fantastic, will definitely need to spice the book up because it was relatively simple with just a few darker themes and ideas. Nothing creepy. Just kind of a ‘woah’ moment. If you choose to read this, don’t feel discouraged that nothing is happening. The twists begin about 3/4 through. The beginning is a large set up to really give this atmospheric vibe to the town and the family.
Giving life to houses seems to be Jackon’s ‘thing’.
While this did book didn’t give life to the house like it did in The Haunting of Hill House, there certainly were these underlying ideas of this house being alive. To me, I loved that. This book didn’t have any ghosts or anything like that, but you constantly were questioning if there was something more going on. But never really got to know. I adored that because it made it real but with this supernatural air about it.
This is one of those books that keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next. You are constantly wondering if there is something supernatural going on or if it’s just your imagination. It’s fantastically written with all these little ideas being weaved throughout the pages which makes you need to keep reading to find out what happens!
Honestly, I can’t say too much about this book because it was incredibly short. It’s a simple book with a few twists that just kept me reading. It was honestly amazing. I read it and my mum read it as well and we have a generation between us but we were able to share an experience and it was so wonderful. It’s a ‘read in a day’ kind of book. And with the movie coming, this is definitely one to read.
Happy Reading!
