We Have Always Lived in the Castle in The Toast

Dec 23, 2016 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: women-authors, fiction, read-harder-2016

I've been avoiding this entry on the Read Harder challenge because horror really isn't my thing, but then I found a copy of this book on my shelves at home, took it to my parents' for Christmas, and devoured it in an afternoon. The sense of place and atmosphere are so great here, and everything just builds to an unexpected but perfectly apt conclusion. Most of what I want to talk about is spoilery, but holy shit, this book is incredible.

(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #1 Read a horror book ...more

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Oct 01, 2015 Maggie rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2015, october-reads

Not what I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing. I enjoyed it quite a bit, Merricat is a decidedly creepy and unreliable narrator, but she's so well written that I could see the logic behind a lot of her actions. Poor Constance. I thought it was a little slow to start, but after the first 50 pages or so I didn't want to stop reading it. It's also pretty short (the copy I read was about 140 pages long), so it's a quick read. Not necessarily scary, but definitely unsettling and creepy in a lo ...more

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Feb 23, 2017 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: twentieth-century, mystery, thriller

Another favorite of 2016! And the perfect novel to read around Halloween. Much like The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is weird and atmospheric and unlike almost any other book I have ever read. It defies easy description.

I actually read the version of the novel contained in this edition: Novels and Stories. And I went on to read the short stories at the back of the book, several of which were also delightfully creepy. ...more

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Aug 17, 2017 Amy rated it really liked it

Shirley Jackson is a master of creep. Although certain parts of the story were a little predictable, I was still surprised by where it went and I kept finding myself wanting more. The end dragged a little, but I loved (in a creeped-out way) all the characters and how they developed.

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