http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/i... ( )

The title of the novel is no accident, for it is as gothic a tale as any that was ever set in a crumbling castle on the banks of the Rhine. Its treatment of human evil, isolation and madness could easily qualify it as the pinnacle of 20th Century American Gothic.

A shadow has fallen across the house of Blackwood. Though once a prominent family, a possibly accidental poisoning has reduced their numbers to three (two sisters, an uncle) and made the townspeople suspicious of the survivors. The uncle, Julian, has been left physically crippled and one of the sisters, Constance, has developed a phobia about the world outside the house which does not prevent her from accepting visitors. It is left to the younger sister, Merikat (short for Mary Katherine), to venture into town on necessary errands.

Gothic literature often features singular characters, individuals who seem eerily plausible yet who are warped in a way that makes them unlike anyone else we've ever encountered. Merikat, who is the narrator and thus our guide through this story, is just such a character. It is clear that she views the townspeople with hostility, going so far as to craft charms--ordinary household items such as books or mirrors placed in odd locations or strange configurations--to keep the world at bay.

But soon it does intrude, in the figure of Charles, a cousin from an estranged branch of the family. His healthiness and level headedness seem to promise an opening up of the Blackwood home, a return to normality. But Merikat sees in him a representative of the crudity and selfishness of the outside world and seeks to drive him out through more and more powerful charms. The last of these results in a terrible reaction from the townspeople which sends the Blackwoods into greater isolation, leading to a hauntingly melancholy end to the story.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is an incomparable achievement, a story that will equally charm and disturb in ways that sometimes can be almost intolerable. And you will probably never forget Merikat Blackwood. ( )

That was such a quick read - finished it in two hours. Satisfyingly creepy. I think I still prefer The Haunting of Hill House. You could see where this one was going the whole way through, but it was still an entertaining ride. It has a few close relatives: Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", and Ruth Rendell's Heartstones. Felt like the protagonists deserved better than the fate that befell them, but then the best villains usually do.

On a side note - what is it with creepy villagers and their skipping rhymes? One of the conventions of Gothic horror that definitely guarantees this novel will be floating around in the back of your mind for days in a low-key macabre sort of way. But children don't really ever do this - there is no shortage of gruesome, morbid tales in the modern world today - just read the newspaper headlines - but have you ever heard a modern child make up a rhyme about any one of them? Ever? I think that went out with Lizzie Borden. Yet it will apparently live on in the horror novel forever. ( )

Mary Katherine Blackwood (Merricat to her family) is walking home after a trip to the grocery store describing all the stares and name calling she must endure before finding herself back home and safely ensconced behind a locked door. She shares her home with her older sister Constance and their Uncle Julian, neither of which ever leave the house. The three have lived under a cloud of suspicion and ridicule after several family members were found dead of arsenic poisoning one night many years ago. Constance was acquitted of the murders, and after her release, she retreated to the house and hasn't left since. Her fear of others and the outside world is palpable. Merricat tries to help as best she can but is hampered in her own way. A teenager of 18, Merricat still thinks and acts like a child, unable to deal with change, afraid for her sister, and prone to outbursts of anger.

One day their cousin Charles shows up for a visit. His motives seem very sinister to Merricat who takes an immediate dislike to him. Constance, oddly, seems to relish having a visitor but you can feel the tension building in her attempting to placate Charles, restrain Merricat, and care for the ailing Uncle Julian. Merricat takes it upon herself to drive Charles from their safe haven wanting to return to their comforting schedule of cleaning and cooking.

In one of the most affecting and riveting scenes in the book, a fire ravages the house and the townspeople show up to fight the fire and heckle the family. “Let it burn” chants echo over the flames and after the fire is extinguished, the onlookers wreck the house --- trashing furniture, smashing plates and carefully cared for and cherished pieces of family history with little regard. It's fantastically abhorrent to see the actions of the people mixed with the raw emotions of the sisters. It made me want to put the book down but I couldn't, wanting desperately to know they would survive the unconscionable actions of the townspeople.

You can't say this book has a happy ending but you come to an understanding with Merricat and Constance and are glad to see they are happy and feel safe in the small, tragic world that is their own. Jackson weaves in agoraphobic fears and traits so well that you almost believe the sisters are better off alone, locked away in a house reclaimed by vines and shrouded in cardboard and spare wood staring out at the world through peep holes.

This was a marvelously refreshing book to read. After the description above I'm sure you may be wondering why I would say that but the characters are so amazing and clever that you may want to stay in their world with them even though it is suffocating and sad. ( )

Very, very creepy, this story of two sisters living with an invalid uncle on the edge of a town that hates them. It was surprisingly easy to fall into Mericat's world-view, full of ritual and superstition. This was wonderfully disturbing, but not gory or jumpy - it is the claustrophobia of the small town and of the sisters lives that makes the story.
I'd give this to people looking for a cosy horror, a murder mystery, or a tale with a twist. ( )