We Have Always Lived in the Castle Audiobook

Publisher Description

Shirley Jacksons deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family takes readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, macabre humor, and gothic atmosphere. Six years after four family members died suspiciously of arsenic poisoning, the three remaining Blackwoodselder, agoraphobic sister Constance; wheelchair-bound Uncle Julian; and eighteen-year-old Mary Katherine, or, Merricatlive together in pleasant isolation. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic to guard the estate against intrusions from hostile villagers. But one day a stranger arrivescousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortuneand manages to penetrate into their carefully shielded lives. Unable to drive him away by either polite or occult means, Merricat adopts more desperate methods, resulting in crisis, tragedy, and the revelation of a terrible secret. Jacksons novel emerges less as a study in eccentricity and morelike some of her other fictionsas a powerful critique of the anxious, ruthless processes involved in the maintenance of normalcy itself. Download and start listening now!

Quotes

A witchs brew of eerie power and startling novelty. – New York Times In her art, as in her life, Shirley Jackson was an absolute original. She listened to her own voice, kept her own counsel, isolated herself from all intellectual and literary currentsShe was unique. – Newsweek I have always felt that some writers should be read and never reviewed. Their talent is haunting and oblique; their mastery of the craft seems completeAnd now, Miss Jackson has made it even more difficult for a reviewer to seem pertinent; all he can do is bestow praise. – New York Times Book Review Bernadette Dunne, her voice all sweetness and smiles with only the slightest tinge of the sinister, gives a fully vocalized reading that enhances the increasing unsettling plot. – SoundCommentary (audio review) This story is a happy combination: a gripping listen matched to a narrator who delivers the story perfectly. While its not action packed, thrilling, tense, or any of those other adjectives usually applied to a mystery, one just cannot switch it offIts a compelling journey to the depths of the human soul, with an ethereal narration that almost defies description. Just listen. – AudioFile Jacksons novel emerges less as a study in eccentricity and morelike some of her other fictionsas a powerful critique of the anxious, ruthless processes involved in the maintenance of normality itself. – Amazon.com Bernadette Dunnes reading is flawlessly paced and suspenseful. The voices she provides the cast of characters are spot on: precocious Merricat is haunted and increasingly desperate; Constance is doting but detached; Uncle Julian is both pleasantly dotty and utterly unnerving; and Charles is the conniving villain listeners will love to hate. A treat for fans of mystery and suspense. – Publishers Weekly (starred review)