We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Such a weird, moody, creepy (but still good!) book. Merricat Blackwood and her sister Constance live in their large family estate along with their invalid Uncle Julian. From the start the reader sees that Merricat has a very distinct voice, a unique perspective on the world, and a strong belief in her own power over it. For example, the book begins with:

“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all, I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in our family is dead.”

The sisters are mostly withdrawn from & unbothered by the world. Except of course on the days Merricat goes to town to run errands, and there is the occasional taunt or snide remark. As the story goes along we learn that the rest of the Blackwood family was poisoned with arsenic in the sugar at a family dinner 6 years earlier, and no one was convicted of this mass murder. Speculations have been made in the village, and the sisters have hidden away in their massive home, interacting as little as possible as a result. They rarely take visitors, and never strangers, until their cousin Charles Blackwood arrives on their doorstep, and everything begins to change, causing Merricat's initial trepidation, and later anger.

Shirley Jackson, famous for the short story The Lottery, is incredibly good at writing everyday human meanness, has incredible psychological insights, and then lets the repressed suspense fan itself into flame. Her characters devolve before our eyes, and yet it's beautifully done. Without overdoing, or over explaining, you watch the external events take place and then immediately see how they're guiding the characters' decisions. All in all, a very interesting, eerie book that I picked up in late October, and felt was appropriate for the season. If you're looking for a well-written, moody but quick read, give this one a try.