Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

40 reviews

peasandpancakes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really immensely enjoyed this book. Merricat was a very interesting narrator, obviously very unreliable, and I loved her little disturbing thoughts. A reddit user whose account was deleted really nicely summarised the writing as a “sense of overwhelming dread that lies beneath the surface of ordinary life. Like something sinister is slowly, but surely, making its appearance, but you don't know when or how it's going to happen”, and I fully agree with that. 

At first I was a bit confused with the kind of sudden ending, but I have come to appreciate it. This will definitely be a book that I will think back on from time to time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Mental illness

otterforce's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 This is a story about so much and so little, and that’s the least of the conflicting or opposing elements involved. If you like character driven stories with a side of mental health issues and some darkness, this story will serve you well. 

It’s a story where no one is innocent and no one escapes unchanged, but whether the end is happy or tragic is left up to you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, and Gaslighting

neonskylite's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I never understood people who read Lolita and are so charmed by Humbert they forget that he's a pedophile. And then I read this book and that distinct first-person narrative voice of Merricat draws you in when she is childish and psychopathic and spends most of the book doing complicated rituals that have no effect on her world because this isn't a magic realist book just Merricat being disconnected from reality and yet,

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty

Incestuous themes: Charles is trying to marry his cousin, Constance, and they take on aspects of the Blackwood parents during their "courtship", or at least from Merricat's point of view. And Merricat and Constance are so thoroughly enmeshed with each other...

lakea's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery and Stalking

soniajoy98's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Child death, and Drug use

lifewithloopy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death

omair's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A story where the mystery isn't a mystery and the absurd is treated as creepily mundane... and yet I found myself enjoying it. The juxtaposition for what I was feeling to what Merricat was feeling or saying was handled brilliantly that I can only assume it was intentional. If I were to plant myself in this world, I would almost certainly see things the way the villagers do, yet reading from the POV we have, I want to side with our main characters...

which an insane thing to say about a pair that are made of quintuple murderer with little remorse and a no-hesitation accomplice!

And yet in such a short space, powerful themes of gender roles, sexual identity, family trauma, possibly abuse, and severe mental illnesses are liberally sprinkled in along with commentary on individuality, agoraphobia, societal norms, greed, maturity (and familial responsibility in raising a child), and so much more. So much of what happens is left with such vague motives that the answers feel simultaneously obvious and yet impossibly absent.

The deeper I found myself into the book,

the more the reliability of the narration came into question

, and the more I felt a need to re-read sections to convince myself I didn't misunderstand or even completely miss details. Sympathizing with our protagonist even as

her twisted world and controlling mannerisms became more crystal clear

felt as confusing as the plot - in a good way - for me. I can certainly understand why this would not be the right cup of tea for everyone, but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed...

even though I certainly wouldn't take mine with any sugar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

chananya's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Death of parent

claireafterall's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

torismazarine's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Classism