gilda_elise

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiousity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp.

The book reads very much like a fairy tale. Two sisters, one of who has murdered the rest of the family, live in their large house (their castle,) with their invalid uncle. Constance refuses to leave the house, so it’s up to Merricat to go into the village to buy food and supplies.

While Constance lives within the walls of their house, Merricat uses her imagination to create practically an entire world on the estate. She’s almost an adult, but is written as very childlike, and is an unreliable narrator. So, like Merricat, the reader doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t.

What is real is the danger that those on the outside represent, along with the new danger of their cousin, Charles. What Merricat is willing to do to save Constance from that danger brings about an inevitable ending.

It’s a haunting and beautifully written story. I highly recommend it.