Mary Katherine Blackwood is one of my favorite characters ever written. I believe she made We Have Always Lived in the Castle what it was because her voice is so special. I can't imagine anyone else narrating this story, I don't believe it would have worked at all. 
 From the first page you can tell that something is off about Mary Katherine (also referred to as Merricat in the novel). She sees the world... differently. There's an innocence about her but also a kind of violence underneath the surface. She connects with objects and believes her rituals protect her family. She's also very paranoid and close to her sister Constance. 
 Right away we're told that six years ago her entire family, with the exception of her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian, mysteriously died one afternoon of poisoning. There was a trial, Constance was acquitted, and since then the town where they live has completely shut them out and labeled them all as crazy murderers. Through fragments in the dialogue we get a vague idea of the circumstances that occurred before and after the murders, but the truth of what really happened is not revealed until much later in the story. 
 In the first half of the book Mary Katherine gives us a glimpse into their lives as a family. It's not long before she shares that she senses a change is coming, something that chills her, and she knows it will change their lives forever. 
 I wouldn't call this a mystery novel. Maybe horror. There's a plot and a climax but no real resolution. I don't think that would have worked for this novel. It's basically a story of what used to be, what changed everything, and what comes next. Throw in Mary Katherine's special case of crazy and you have a dark tale from a unique point of view that makes everything shine. 
 Shirley Jackson did an amazing job with Mary Katherine's voice, and her paranoid perspective was persistent throughout. While you wonder about her eccentricities and don't really understand her neurosis you can't help but feel drawn to her and the way she sees her world. Original, gripping, and dark, this is easily one of my favorite books as of late for sure.