May 2019 Book-et List: “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”
Great films are more often than not adapted from classic novels. When these types of films are released, I usually read the original book first to gain a teaser of what the movie has to offer.
A case like this can be witnessed with Shirley Jackson’s 1962 novel “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” which was adapted to film on Friday, May 17. The entire book is suspenseful and chilling, as protagonist 18-year-old Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood sprinkles only phrases and hints about the climax of the novel.
Merricat lives with her older sister Constance and her wheelchair-bounded Uncle Julian. The Blackwood family has a dark past, but the exact events of it are never explicitly revealed. Vague details told by Merricat and Uncle Julian disclose that Constance had poisoned many members of the Blackwood family six years ago, forcing the remaining family members to hideaway in a large estate on the outskirts of their village. They rarely go outside and are often visited by the village people, tormenting them with songs about their family’s history.
I had to check to see if I read Merricat’s age correctly when starting the novel because she has a childish and dark demeanor. The way she narrates the plot reveals her belief in magic and her twisted imagination, often fantasizing about hurting the people she doesn’t like. It does not seem like an 18-year-old’s behavior.
While she has a childish disposition, Merricat’s vignettes are filled with dark and unsettling imagery. Scene set-ups coupled with intense descriptions reminded me of John Steinbeck’s attention to detail. This adds layers of suspense to the 146-page novel.
It is not apparent what exactly happened to the Blackwood family, or why the entire town ostracized them. I never quite knew what Merricat was talking about because the details of the crime are not revealed until the last chapter. Jackson’s narrative vagueness adds more mystery to the novel. The ending was satisfying, but it kept some privacy, which, in a way, reflects the privacy of the Blackwood family.
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” provides a unique story for those interested in a self-solving mystery instead of an omniscient one. Even though the last chapter seems to reveal details about the crime, I was still left with questions after reading it, which was not unwelcome. These questions were a unique factor that I had never experienced in mystery novels, piquing my interest even more.
