Six Degrees of Separation ~ We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Jackson, Shirley 
"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" - 1962

#6Degrees of Separation:

from We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Goodreads) to Carry On, Jeeves

#6Degrees is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. I love the idea. Thank you, Kate. See more about this challenge, its history, further books and how I found this here. 

The starter book this month is "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson. As usual, I haven't read the starter book. But I have read another book by her, "The Lottery". One of the scariest books I have ever read.

This is the description of the novel:

"Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret.

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate."

This was a nice title to find connections through words. I like that because it usually gives us a lot of different topics rather than all the same books. And I often get books I don't use so often otherwise. So we start with: The White Castle

Pamuk, Orhan "The White Castle" (TR: Beyaz Kale) - 1985
The author transports us back into the Venice and Istanbul/Constantinople of the 17th century. His tale is about two men who are as different and yet as similar as possible to each other who come from the two different parts of the world. We learn about the differences between the Orient and the Occident.

Aicher-Scholl, Inge "The White Rose" (GE: Die weiße Rose) - 1952

Inge Scholl was the sister of Hans and Sophie Scholl and is writing this book about her siblings and the Munich resistance group.

If there are any books that everyone should read, the story of the White Rose is definitely one of them. It shows that even in deepest Nazi Germany there were people who resisted, who paid for it with their lives, but who should be a great role model for all of us.

Eco, Umberto "The Name of the Rose" (I: Il Nome de la Rosa) - 1980 
A murder mystery. A monastery in the 14th century. One death occurs after the other, some of them seem very suspect, but for most of them it is very clear that another person caused the death. In other words, there is a mass murderer at large. Two visiting monks start to investigate and find a lot of links, some of them correct, others definitely false.

Osorio, Elsa "My Name is Light" (E: A veinte años, Luz) - 1998
A highly interesting novel about something that didn’t happen that long ago, yet is not so widely published. Of course, everyone knows there were a lot of problems in Argentina but I have not read a novel where it was described this well.

Obama, Michelle "The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - 2022

Such a wonderful woman, such a strong personality. We need more women like her who tell us how they lead their successful lives without pointing a finger, without letting the book be a "self-help book".

It's a huge privilege to be let into the thoughts of Michelle Obama, she shares so much that can be helpful to all of us. We can always learn from each other but especially from successful people.

Wodehouse, P.G."The World of Jeeves" (Jeeves #2-4: The Inimitable Jeeves #2, Carry On, Jeeves #3, Very Good, Jeeves! #4) - 1923/1925/1930

I had a lot of fun reading this over several months, the two helped me through some awful Corona months.

There isn't much more to say about these books other than how wonderful they are. I mentioned before that they aren't just funny but that the language is superb.

* * *

I couldn't find a connection between the first and the last one. The first was written by an American, the last by a Brit, the first one by a woman, the last by a man, the first is scary, the last funny. But both covers are quite monochrome. So, that's my conclusion and I stand by it. 😉 

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