We Have Always Lived in the Castle opens Goodreads in a new tab

My thoughts

this is exactly the kind of book i needed to read. it isn't exactly a horror story but in every way an absolutely perfect read. Something about the tone of the audiobook and the cover and the ways of the main character Mary just gives me the chills. 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. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in our family is dead. It is a semiautobiographical tale which talks about isolation and paranoia. I loved the fact that this book whole is book is from the pov of MerriCat which is highly misanthropic and eerie. she hates about anything and anyone who tries to come into the lives of their small happy(not really) family. As opposed to what alot of people say i think this is a work of literary fiction more than a horror story. It is semi autobiographical and hence we get to know about the anti-Semitism and anti-intellectualism Shirley Jackson faced in real life. She also died at the early age of 48 years. This book gives us a lot to ponder over especially about self-isolation and how it can be a good thing. Altho this book was first published in the 1960s it's a very good read even now as we are just coming out of the lockdown and isolation.