We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Author: Shirley Jackson

Rating: ⭐ 5/5

Date Read: 2014/03/26

Pages: 152

I wish that someone had put this in my hands when I was going through my adolescent [a:R.L. Stine|13730|R.L. Stine|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1194380070p2/13730.jpg] and [a:Christopher Pike|19954|Christopher Pike|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1336315535p2/19954.jpg] phase. Had that happened, I could have read this at least eight or nine times already, and that still wouldn’t be enough. This was sordid, and fun, and I don’t understand why it has been turned into a Tim Burton film yet. Note to Tim Burton: get on that!

Giving up the plot would put a damper on the fun, so all I will say is that this novella involves poison (!), creepy (?) sisters, and a crazy ass Grey Gardens type situation. Also, it’s super short, so you can easily knock it out in an afternoon (which is great if you’re behind on your Goodreads challenge, as I am right now).

One thing I loved was the evil small town aspect. Growing up in an always gossipy, occasionally spiteful small town totally sucks, even when you’re not enveloped by scandal. The taunts and adults-acting-like-children scenes rang surprisingly true, and part of me felt that Merricat’s plan to kill them all wasn’t a terrible idea. Although, if I had all that money laying around, I’d just decamp to a different city, but then again, I’m not agoraphobic with comorbid untreated mental disorders.

Yeah, just read this already. I really do wish I would have read it sooner.