Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

4 stars for We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

This is an unsettling novel about a peculiar girl named Merricat, her beloved older sister, Constance, and together, their family's dark, dark secret.

The story revolves around a mysterious past event. Through Merricat's first person narratives, the reader is prompted to figure out what exactly happens on that fatal night six years ago. Throughout the novel, there is a sense that the truth lies within reach, but in actuality, it is so near yet so far. For some of the characters such as the villagers or Uncle Julian who lives in the same house as the two sisters, truth is the same as conjecture. As for the two characters that do know the truth, even their individual truths never quite match up.

At the end of my reading, I gather that somehow, the truth does not really matter, at least that is how the author sees it. Just as often, it is not the destination but the journey that matters, and so, in this story, it matters not the truth, but family, female power and gender, guilt and punishment, and above all, isolation. To most if not all of us, living in isolation is equivalent to living in horror; but to Merricat, it is living in happy isolation.

That said, at the end of the day, the reader in me still yearns to find out the truth of that mysterious past. Well, it is certainly revealed in good time if you read right to the end of the book.


Publisher: Penguin Classics; Deluxe edition
Publication date: 31 Oct 2006

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Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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