With We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson weaves an overall mood of fear, hostility, menace, and madness without being overt or graphic. I was chilled.
I'll leave it at that, as Goodreads can fill you in on the synopsis if you're interested. If you prefer not to know too much (and I think that's best), skip the synopsis and dive in! At 162 pages it's not a huge commitment of time.
Reading anything by Shirley Jackson makes you want to know more about Shirley Jackson. The "Introduction" I found preceding the first chapter of Castle gave some background and insight into Jackson's life; not a lot, just enough to leave me wanting more.
You've probably even read her work and don't know it. At some point a teacher or friend surely laid before you a short story called "The Lottery." What life, what experiences, creates that disturbing, unforgettable tale?
To answer that, here are some links if you dare delve further into a brilliant mind so very capable of going so very dark:
- The Haunted Mind of Shirley Jackson (article in The New Yorker)
- 11 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Shirley Jackson (article in Publishers Weekly)
- Shirley Jackson Wikipedia entry
- Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (biography)
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