We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson~ Goodreads ~
Rating: 3.0 Stars
Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiousity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.
I don't know how to feel about this book, because while it's written very well, the actual story line felt a bit dragged out. We see a lot of day-to-day activities with nothing much really going on. Although the atmosphere and the actions and behaviors of our Blackwood family DOES come off very unsettling and I found myself making "WTF" faces every few scenes.
The big secret reveal at the end of the book wasn't entirely surprising, but the entire progress concerning Merricat's antagonism versus Charles DID get my attention.
I will admit though, there's a lot of pretty outrageous, yet well detailed human behavior depicted through the villagers and the Blackwoods. But a lot of times, actions and dialogue had me a little confused.
This book had a wonderfully haunting atmosphere, but the story itself has much to be desired.
***
2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• 2016 Halloween Bingo
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