We Have Alway Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson - 4 stars

I received this book from a very dear friend here on Good Reads after we had discussed wanting to read it and how awesome the cover was. Shortly after receiving the book I decided it was time to read it and finish up the month. I have to say I was expecting a disturbing tale with this one and it really wasn't like that at all, but overall still enjoyable.

In this book we have Constance, Mary Katherine, Uncle Julian, and their cat named Jonas all lived together in the family home, the Blackwood House. Having lost the rest of the family due to a supposed murder by poison, Mary and Constance no longer had their parents. They were treated poorly by the townspeople on many occasions. Their Uncle Charlie suddenly shows up swearing he is there to help them. Things start falling apart for the girls and Uncle Julian. Mary Katherine wishes Uncle never showed up and would go away. Disaster strikes and the Girls try to continue with their daily routines through life.

I did not find a real plot to the story at all, but the story was still very enjoyable. It was also not what I expected either. I also expected something that would be a somewhat disturbing, but that is not what you get at all with this one. It was more like a book suggesting what happens to someone when something bad happens. Even though I did not think the book was very plot driven, it was still a very fun book and it was fun to read. I would like to see this story before the murders of the family happened and maybe get a better look into things then. There were parts of the story that were annoying and also made me kind of angry. I could not believe how these townspeople treated the girls, it was really appalling most times.

I found that I really liked Mary Katherine and Constance both. I think they were very charming in their own right and even quite delightful at times. They just thought that what they were doing was the right way of doing things. I can also understand why they were the way they were too. If I had been treated as they had been treated multiple times, I would have behaved the same way, if not worse than they were behaving. Uncle Charles I just wanted to shoot and be done with him. He was a horrible person inside and out.

I recommend this book to just about anyone since it is really just a fun quick read. I think it is suitable for most audiences. I would love to read more by this author as I think her writing style is quite unique.