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

I am trying to figure out what to do with this book. I loved the main character, Merricat, who narrated the story. I loved the setting and the prose. But the actual horror was too much for me. Let me explain.

The story is about Merricat, Constance, and Uncle Julian Blackwood, who live in an enormous manor in a village where they are not welcomed. Little by little, the reader is let into the story of why they are ostracized and why there is this peculiar aura around their home. Merricat tries to protect her home and her big sister Constance from the villagers by getting their supplies alone and burying things in their garden as talismans against evil—her way of doing magic. While she ventures into the village to get their supplies, she has to endure abuse from the villagers, who taunt her, call her names, and curse her home and their family. This has been going on for years, and Merricat and they have endured thus far. But something disturbs their peace and isolation. Charles, their cousin, appears in the house, and only Merricat can see that he is evil and wants no good. The reader witnesses the horror of snakes and vipers doing their worst in a bad situation. All the while, getting to know about the fateful night at the manor, which changed everything for Merricat, Constance, and Julian Blackwood, forcing them to hide in the manor and giving Charles a perfect excuse to intrude on their sanctuary.

The book is so well written that I felt like I was in there, seeing, hearing, and feeling everything Merricat did. And yet, while the narration, the strangeness of Merricat, and the need to know the mystery behind the story enraptured me, the horror element made me uneasy. It wasn’t like I feared that a boogeyman would come and get me. The horror was nothing like that. It was just what I wrote about vipers. The evilness of little-minded people and how cruel they can be for cruelty’s sake. That is one thing I cannot handle in any story: people being nasty just because they can be and want to be. Even Charles’s motives for entering the house made me want to stop reading the book. I could instantly see where it would lead and how he would play Constance to get what he wanted (highly obvious for everyone to see). Cruelty, nastiness, and small-mindedness are why I can’t watch soap operas and despise them greatly. Something the book reminded me of.

So here I am, wondering what I think about the book. So many of the elements I wrote above make me appreciate the book a lot, but it pushed buttons I prefer to avoid being pushed. I would be the first one to argue that books should push our buttons, but I’m unsure if this made me see the world differently or if I found something new about myself. I feel like I didn’t. I felt more like this was a bad stereotype played again and again throughout our history. Yes, there are small-minded people who are willing to be nasty because they can, but seldom they are how they are for simple reasons, as so often written. The world is full of broken people who have become who they are to survive. I’m confused about what to do with this book and how many stars to give on Goodreads. There mayn’t need to be an answer or value to be added.

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day ❤