sas_lk's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oof. I don't even know where to start... there are so many layers to this book that I really did not expect. In some parts it was incredibly hard for me to read - that dread of somebody snaking themselves into your life and turning those you love into somebody you do not know and trust anymore. The despair in this book was tangible; it still weighs heavily in my heart, and I suspect it will continue to do so for long. I feel so much for Mary, this little girl who's had her world thrown upside down, who simply wants a better life - a moon to live on, where everything is okay - and doing every thing she can to get to that moon. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is filled with the desperate need of a child to hold on to a world she can cope with. This novel was so heartwrenching and tragic... I feel as though nothing I could say would accurately describe the pure pain in this novel.
I'm going to need a long time to truly process this book I think, and I will probably find myself coming back to it again and again.
I'm going to need a long time to truly process this book I think, and I will probably find myself coming back to it again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Hate crime, Death, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death
jmschnepp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
We Have Always Lived in a Castle tells the story of Mary Katherine, Constance and Uncle Julian - the three remaining members of the Blackwood family. Mary Katherine narrates from her perspectives and experiences. The story begins with Merricat (Constance's nickname for her) in "the village". We learn that Constance hasn't left the yard since her family mysteriously died 8 years earlier. Its interesting to follow the train of Merricat's mind and the lengths to which she goes to maintain the life she believes she deserves.
The books was so well written, that I got caught up in Mary Katherine's story telling. She was authentic and transparent in her perspective of the world around her. However, not all that glitters is gold.
The books was so well written, that I got caught up in Mary Katherine's story telling. She was authentic and transparent in her perspective of the world around her. However, not all that glitters is gold.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Mental illness, Confinement, Hate crime, and Murder
sofipitch's review
dark
tense
slow-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
4.75
Jackson does such an excellent job of creating an unsettling atmosphere with a narrator that refuses at acknowledge it. The themes of being trapped, either by family or fear are so good. I read that Jackson herself was agoraphobic which she does such a great job of portraying as deeply unsettling with so little and such simple words. This was such a good mind fuck I love psych horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Hate crime
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder
uselessreader's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
- 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
I really liked how the major theme of the book is revolt against the patriarchy. I did not expect this book to be so feminist and was pleasantly surprised. Merricat and Constance have power over their day-to-day lives that is unusual for young women in the 1960s, and the book is concerned with the sisters’ struggle to defend that power from men who would usurp it.
Spoiler
The sisters’ ultimate triumph is that they succeed in banishing these men from their lives (Charles, the nephew). Jackson, then, presents a vision that could be seen as a kind of feminist utopia, in which the sisters reject many structures and icons of male power, such as money (they are completely indifferent to their wealth and only use money to buy necessities) and the traditional nuclear family (Merricat literally murders them), and are able to make a woman-centred life for themselves that includes only the two of them. I also really liked how bold Jackson was in her feminist statement (Merricat literally murders almost her entire family to regain power over herself).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Hate crime
jonsnowsmanbun's review
dark
mysterious
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
Spoiler
„ Fate intervened. Some of us, that day, she led inexorably through the gates of death. Some of us, innocent and unsuspecting, took, unwillingly, that one last step to oblivion. Some of us took very little sugar.„Spoiler
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, and Fire/Fire injury
minadorissa's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Hate crime
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