87 - Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle

David, Eric, and Nick seek out some mid-summer spookiness in Shirley Jackson’s acclaimed We Have Always Lived in the Castle and instead find a compact work that is much more complicated than the horror themes, accessible sentences, and vaguely young adult-ish book cover (thanks Penguin Classics) lead one to believe. Cheers to Jackson for walking the line between genre and literary fiction and forcing the reader to sit with a story that has all the trappings of a murder mystery, but none of the virtuous resolutions. Perhaps we are all lacking the ability to communicate across societal lines, forever content in our ever-shrinking castles after all.
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Shirley Jackson was an American writer most known for her short story "The Lottery" (1948). In 1959 came The Haunting of Hill House, possibly her most well-known novel, and one that has become a classic in the “haunted house tale.” In 1960, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was released.
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www.booksofsomesubstance.com

[@LaundryFaerie]

There's a direct line between the cathartic destruction of "The Lottery" and "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and the concept behind The Purge films.

[@booksosubstance]

Remember the first one vaguely, but not enough. It certainly seems that way. Thanks for listening.

[@hickorydcorry]

Glad to see you fellas posting again, always enjoy watching your videos after a day working a mindless job, stimulates the old brain cells

[@booksosubstance]

Thank you so much. We will be updating more over the next week or so to get back on track.