I have always loved Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery," so I wanted to read one of her novels. I absolutely loved this one. This was probably the only non-graphic novel/ comic book that I finished all in one day. I started reading it on Tuesday morning after I finished reading Never Let Me Go, and I finished reading it after I got home from class. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is about the Blackwood family. Constance Blackwood is an agoraphobe who was aquitted of murdering everyone in her family except for her uncle Julian, and her little sister Mary Katherine. Mary Katherine, or Merricat, is the protagonist of the story. She is the only one who every leaves the Blackwood house, and that is only to get groceries and books. Everyone in town believes that Constance was guilty, so they all hate the Blackwoods. Merricat is an interesting narrator, because she is obviously quite unhinged and often fantasizes about watching the people around her die. Because of this, she is what is called an "unreliable narrator." The truth of what happened to the rest of the Blackwood family wasn't all that shocking because I guessed it from the very beginning, but that didn't ruin the story at all for me. I really enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading more from Shirley Jackson in the future.
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