We Have Always Lived in the Castle
(Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
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4.0 • 327 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret
Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, 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. This edition features a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Shirley Jackson was known for perfecting the haunted-house story, but her final novel is about a house haunted by three living people. The story’s told through the eyes of 18-year-old Merricat, who lives an isolated life with her agoraphobic older sister and infirm Uncle Julian—the only remaining members of the Blackwood family, most of whom died together of arsenic poisoning. Through Uncle Julian’s obsessive ramblings, we piece together the events of that terrible day. Jackson is a master at generating dread and paranoia; reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a little like stepping inside a child’s nightmare.
Customer Reviews
Shhhhh
After Shirley Jackson writes, there is nothing left to say.
Anticlimactic , anticathartic
There’s “leaving an open ending for the reader” and then there’s ending a story at a screeching and random halt. Potential for an interesting mystery but instead goes nowhere. There was potential for great character development and arch, but instead flat lines.
LOVED
I could not set this book down. The characters are extremely engrossing and it's so easy to get in their heads. A wonderful "mystery" that's more of a 'why do it' than a 'who done it'. It's also a very easy read! If I was to start a book club, it would be because of this book... I could talk about it all day. 👏🏻