We Have Always Lived in the Castle

By: Shirley Jackson

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Shirley Jackson’s deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family takes readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, macabre humor, and gothic atmosphere.

Six years after four family members died suspiciously of arsenic poisoning, the three remaining Blackwoods—elder, agoraphobic sister Constance; wheelchair-bound Uncle Julian; and eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine, or, Merricat—live together in pleasant isolation. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic to guard the estate against intrusions from hostile villagers. But one day a stranger arrives—cousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortune—and manages to penetrate into their carefully shielded lives. Unable to drive him away by either polite or occult means, Merricat adopts more desperate methods, resulting in crisis, tragedy, and the revelation of a terrible secret.

Jackson’s novel emerges less as a study in eccentricity and more—like some of her other fictions—as a powerful critique of the anxious, ruthless processes involved in the maintenance of normalcy itself.

©1962 Shirley Jackson (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Creepy fun!

The hype is correct when it comes to this book. Definitely creepy but fast paced. The characters are indelible and the end will leave you wanting more. Love this one.

One of the Great American Writers at Her Best

Tightly focused in the way that great short works need to be but often aren't. Narrator does a brilliant job as well - which is doubly challenging as it's told from a very unusual first person viewpoint. Creepy, atmospheric, claustrophobic, hypnotic. Will likely hang around in your memory for life.

Excellent Narrator

This classic book has been on my "to be read list," for ages. I finally got the chance to read it this year around Halloween and I was not disappointed. This book is haunting and eerie in a unique way. It taps into primal fears of "the other." In this book, Jackson shows that monsters aren't under our beds, instead, the truly monstrous things in this world are other people. A sense of agoraphobia permeates the writing and made me give my own neighbors the side-eye for a few days. This was the type of book that became creepier and more eerie as I allowed it to percolate in my subconscious. I recommend it to other fans of suspense.

Not What I Expected

I didn't dislike this book but I was underwhelmed. I wanted to read it before watching the film & both didn't connect with me. I found the ending left me wanting & seemed unearned.
It's worth a shot since it's very short but keep your expectations low.

A bit disappointing

I really wanted to like this book, and had been looking for some time for a good Halloween listen. Everyone raves about Shirley Jackson. I didn't find this book particularly scary or creepy or anything. It was rather charming, pretty language and descriptions. I did like the main characters, but nothing really happens...even when events happen, they don't seem to matter. Just a sort of flat story. I felt like it could have been so much more.

Haunting and thought-provoking

This is haunting! I could hardly wait to get back to it each evening and listen some more. It's an eerily familiar look at small-town bigotry. I say "familiar" because anyone who grew up in a small town or rural setting will recognize the prejudices of the townsfolk against anybody who seems "different." And boy, are these characters different. The narration by Bernadette Dunne is perfection. She embodies the quirky narrator, Merricat. Highly recommended.

The narrative form of Mary Kat’s perspective. So intense!

Shirley Jackson’s amazing vernacular immerses the reader into the mind of young girl who is relentless and malevolent. Definitely worth a listen, especially for a second time!

Quirky story and Characters

The narration was ok, seems the narrator forgot who she was supposed to be talking as sometimes. Story was ok, could not really hold my interest, and thought maybe there would be a great ending twist so I held on through the whole thing. Wish I hadn't.

The voices

I liked the eerie 60s Alfred Hitchcock type thriller feel to this. For today’s standards it’s a little underwhelming, but interesting.

You have to read between the lines

Weird but atmospheric tale of of two sisters, Merricat and Constance who live in agoraphobic isolation in a large old house with their senile old wheelchair bound uncle Julian. All of the rest of their family is long dead. Poisoned with arsenic six years ago. Constance stood trial for the deaths but was acquitted. Still the towns folk taunt and bully them. Thinking Constance killed her family with poisoned food. So the sisters stay at home. With money in a safe instead of a bank.

Eighteen year old Merricat is the only one who ever leaves the house, going out twice a week for food. Dodging the stares and condemnation of the towns folk. Merricat, the narrator of the story lives in a fantasy life. Wishing to be on the moon when people get to close to her. When ever they make fun of her she retreats into her fantasy world.

Her older sister Constance watches over every one constantly cooking, cleaning, gardening and baking and making tea. The entire story is a conversation in Merricat's warped brain. Child like fantasy life of an 18 year old. The unreliable narrator. The best parts of the book are what is not said but implied. Is Constance afraid to leave the house or is there something else going on? This is where Jackson's writing excels. But you have to have the patience to worm out the the unsaid from the silly babbling of girl who refuses to grown up. The implied but not spoken. Mericat buries objects in the garden. She has adventures in her head. Plays and talks to her cat. She secretly wishes people dead or disappeared. She places talisman all over their garden to ward off evil. Then one day a book she nailed to a tree falls and she thinks it is a bad omen. Something bad will happen. And it does.

Excellent writing but such a depressing story of cruelty, manipulation and mental illness. Not at all a horror story but very atmospheric. Leaving more mystery behind. This story is haunting without being a horror story.