We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
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We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Author: Shirley Jackson

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

Unabridged: 5 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/10/2010


Synopsis

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel, is full of a macabre and sinister humor, and Merricat herself, its amiable narrator, is one of the great unhinged heroines of literature. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic, burying talismanic objects beneath the family estate, nailing them to trees, and ritualistically revisiting them. She has created a protective web to guard against the distrust and hostility of neighboring villagers. Or so she believes. But at last the magic fails. A stranger arrivescousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortune. He disturbs the sisters' careful habits, installing himself at the head of the family table, unearthing Merricat's treasures, talking privately to Constance about normal lives and boy friends. Unable to drive him away by either polite or occult means, Merricat adopts more desperate methods. The result is crisis and tragedy, the revelation of a terrible secret, the convergence of the villagers upon the house, and a spectacular unleashing of collective spite. The sisters are propelled further into seclusion and solipsism, abandoning old habits in favor of an evernarrowing circuit of ritual and shadow. They have themselves become talismans, to be alternately demonized and propitiated with gifts. Jackson's novel emerges less as a study in eccentricity and morelike some of her other fictionsas a powerful critique of the anxious, ruthless processes involved in the maintenance of normalcy itself.

About Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson (1916–1965) first rose to fame with her short story 'The Lottery.' Her six novels and many short stories confirmed her as an essential voice in twentieth century American fiction.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Sharon on 2010-04-19 11:08:32

This was an amazing book about 3 fascinating characters, each one with their own psychosis. Paranoia, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive, and fantasy all together in one surreal environment. Definitely worth reading.

Goodreads review by Bill on September 14, 2020

This book is a masterpiece. It is short and spare and written in crystal clear prose, yet so evocative that it is richer in nuance than most good novels twice its size. It is so good I could kick myself for not reading it years ago, yet so mythic I am convinced I have known it always, like a tragic......more

Goodreads review by s.penkevich on October 20, 2024

Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea? Oh, no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me. Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep? Down in the boneyard ten feet deep! A common trope in American horror films is to include children singing a song that, at first, is seemingly innocent but s......more

Goodreads review by Miranda on December 10, 2020

Halloween is just around the corner and it's time for some spooky books - but which ones are worth your time? Check out this BookTube Video for answers!What you think you know, you don't Several years ago, someone poisoned the sugar bowl at the last Blackwood family dinner, resulting in the death......more

Goodreads review by emma on November 17, 2023

Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea? Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me. Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep? Down in the boneyard ten feet deep! I don’t really have a good reason to begin with that quote, other than the fact that I’m obsessed with it. It’s up there w......more

Goodreads review by Michael on February 03, 2018

My favorite Shirley Jackson novel. A masterpiece of unreliable narration and of the eerie relationship between childishness and horror. I'm now re-reading this for a December group read, so I thought I'd update this review as I go. A lot has already been written about the masterful opening paragraph o......more