Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

41 reviews

aksmith92's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I began this book around Halloween, and while it wasn't jump-scary or terrifying in general, it had an odd element that was fitting for the season.

The Setup: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is a dark, atmospheric novel that blends psychological horror with themes of isolation, familial bonds, and societal prejudice. The story is narrated by 18-year-old Mary Katherine, or Merricat, Blackwood, who lives with her sister, Constance, and their uncle, Julian, in an eerie, secluded mansion on the edge of a small village. The townspeople shun the Blackwoods after a family tragedy involving the poisoning of Merricat's parents, which many believe was committed by Constance.

Somehow, Jackson creates a sense of claustrophobia and dread as Merricat reveals her disturbed inner world and the strict routines she imposes to keep her family safe. Her rituals and superstitions hint at an unstable mind, while her fierce loyalty to Constance emphasizes their inseparable yet complex bond. The arrival of their estranged cousin Charles disrupts their fragile peace, setting off a series of events that force the sisters to confront their past and dependence on each other.

What I Liked: This was an eerie story! It wasn't scary, and I wouldn't define it as horror (even psychological horror) like the summary states, but it sure was creepy. This novel had a considerable mystery element, making me continuously guess about the story. I like stories like this because they keep me highly engaged (which I was the entire time). The sisters and Uncle were quite peculiar; you wanted to know more about them and the family. I thoroughly enjoyed Jackson's writing style - a mix of lyrical prose and haunting simplicity; overall, the premise was quite enticing.

What Could Have Been Better: For a mystery, the reveal of the "plot twist," if you can call it that, was quite anticlimactic. I had guessed the reveal for a bit, and while I don't mind when I guess it right, I generally like seeing how it all plays out, which was done poorly here. I understand why Jackson did it this way - it weaved well with the characters, but overall, I was disappointed. Additionally, while the prose and premise were great, Jackson shared much without showing you a lot. Jackson did phenomenally with psychological depth with Merricat, our unreliable narrator, but so many things dragged on that weren't needed. Since it was such a character-driven story, I didn't let that impact my rating too much, but there were times when various "acts" were so long, while the mysterious reveal was barely a page. I'm sure all of it was done intentionally - Jackson was a fabulous writer, but I didn't love it here.

However, overall, this was a great book for the season, and I did enjoy it. I'm currently in the midst of moving, meaning my reading schedule is in a bit of flux, so this took me longer than anticipated, but I think this would be a great quick read, especially during the fall around Halloween or even winter. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

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!

---

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.

---

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,

---

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

---

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

---

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

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

Content Warnings

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