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We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.
taz_: I suspect that Iain Banks' "Wasp Factory" character Frank Cauldhame was inspired by Shirley Jackson's Merricat, as these two darkly memorable teenagers share a great many quirks - the totems and protections to secure their respective "fortresses", the obsessive superstitions that govern their daily lives and routines, their isolation and cloistered pathology, their eccentric families and dark secrets. Be warned, though, that "The Wasp Factory" is a far more explicit and grisly tale than the eerily genteel "Castle" and certainly won't appeal to all fans of the latter.… (more)
citygirl: Castle is much darker and Flavia is more adorable than creepy (Merricat is quite creepy), but if you're interested in unusual young protagonists, with a very particular world view, try these.
sparemethecensor: Two sisters with a mysterious relationship and dark history together, unreliable narrators, dark, old, rural houses with mysteries of their own... Though the books take different plotlines, they share so many similar elements that people who enjoyed the setting and storytelling of one will likely enjoy the other.… (more)
Nialle: Young, emotionally complex, imaginative narrators in isolated situations - have something going on that the reader only glimpses before the big reveal
passion4reading: Though set within completely different landscapes, situations and time periods, each novel has the central theme of an outsider intruding upon an isolated close-knit family group, with disastrous consequences.
What happened to the Blackwood family? As this bizarre tale opens, we meet paranoid, superstitious Mary Katherine (Merricat) and agoraphobic Constance, young women who live in an old mansion with only their infirm Uncle Julian. As the story unfolds the reader learns that after their family tragedy six years ago, the trio has been ostracized by their small town. The sisters stick to their rigid routine, rules, traditions and superstition s unit an unsettling change occurs. This short book had me on the edge of my seat. Who and what caused the family tragedy? What underlying problems produced the damage to the sister? The story is told through the unreliable voice of Merricat, and that proves to be a creepy and claustrophobic point of view! ( )
Huh. Kogu aeg on olnud plaanis ja nüüd lõpuks sattus kätte. Väga. Hea. Lugu. Meenutas natuke "Herilase vabrikut" ja "Tüdrukut, kes armastas tuletikke", aga tegelikult ei ole sarnane. Ainuld see ... tunne, mingi õhkõrn vaib, millele ei ole võimalik kuidagi näppu peale panna. Lõpp oli natuke mehh, aga ainult juuksekarva võrra ja võtan süü selle pärast täiesti enda peale - kuna minu aju seostas loo millegipärast eelmainitud kahe raamatuga, siis säärast pööret nagu seal ei tule. Aga hea. Väga hea. ( )
Of the precocious children and adolescents of mid-twentieth-century American fiction ... none is more memorable than eighteen-year-old "Merricat" of Shirley Jackson's masterpiece of Gothic suspense We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962).
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.
Quotations
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!
You will be wondering about that sugar bowl, I imagine. Is it still in use? you are wondering; has it been cleaned? you may very well ask; was it thoroughly washed?
Our house was a castle, turreted and open to the sky.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.
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Book description
The quiet, isolated life of the Blackwoods—eighteen-year-old Merricat; her older sister, Constance, who may have poisoned their parents six years ago; and their wheelchair-bound uncle—is disrupted by the arrival of a cousin pursuing the family fortune.
Haiku summary
Charles strives to drive the lioness from her den, but Merricat has claws. (passion4reading)
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What happened to the Blackwood family? As this bizarre tale opens, we meet paranoid, superstitious Mary Katherine (Merricat) and agoraphobic Constance, young women who live in an old mansion with only their infirm Uncle Julian. As the story unfolds the reader learns that after their family tragedy six years ago, the trio has been ostracized by their small town. The sisters stick to their rigid routine, rules, traditions and superstition s unit an unsettling change occurs.
This short book had me on the edge of my seat. Who and what caused the family tragedy? What underlying problems produced the damage to the sister? The story is told through the unreliable voice of Merricat, and that proves to be a creepy and claustrophobic point of view! (