Review: The House We Grew Up In

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lisa Jewell has spun an evocative tale of how a family falls to pieces after one tragic event, in The House We Grew Up In. The premise is good: an apparently perfect family house with a secret or two, some great loss, and a very tangled web of dysfunctions in family dynamics. Unfortunately, the more I read about the Bird family, the more I felt frustrated because it was impossible for me to relate to any of the characters, as each one of them was unlikeable in their own way.

This is a story that follows the Bird family, with more emphasis in the mother, Lorelei, who collects everything from trifles to emotional traumas, which fill her house and her life to an unbearable point.

Something I enjoyed was how warped the relationships between characters became with their grief. However, rather than have sympathy for these characters, I was constantly hoping something would redeem them. From the self-centred Lorelei to her no-less-flawed children, each character lacked the depth or arch that would inspire at least a sense of empathy.

I could understand how Jewell was trying to demonstrate how a tragedy can easily cause the destruction of a family's relationships, and that, outside of books, people not always get their redemption arcs. The author was probably trying to mirror the harshness of real life, but, from my point of view, it just seemed a little shallow.

I frequently found myself reflecting on other mystery thrillers, such as What Lies Between Us by John Marrs, where the characters, despite their flaws, possessed relatable qualities that held my attention. In contrast, the characters in this book seemed more like dark caricatures than genuine individuals, ⁣ which lessened the emotional resonance of their struggles.

As always, Jewell writes in that friendly flashing fashion, yet the pace often lags behind, and it's hard to stay tuned. Particularly, her frequent descriptions of the house — a haven of warmth but loaded with objects and secrets — left me with many pictures in my mind. However, all those flashbacks and all those changes in perspectives made the reading seem at times interrupted, making me feel lost.

As I approached the conclusion of the book, I found myself yearning for a moment of revelation or redemption. In turn, what awaited me was an abrupt resolution that left me feeling unsatisfied. The plot twists, designed to astonish, missed their mark; I realized I didn’t care deeply enough for the characters to experience the shock or dismay they were meant to evoke.

My point is that although I can understand where Lisa Jewell was going with The House We Grew Up In, this novel did not live up to the potential I was hoping it would have. Such a promising premise, a family imploding, cannot hold without somewhat believable characters and a balanced storyline.

If you are looking for something full of thrills to read, I would rather recommend another book by this author, entitled None of This Is True.

Content Warnings

Graphic - Suicide, Mental illness, Child death

Moderate - Infidelity, Pregnancy, Death of parent

Minor - Rape, Incest, Alcoholism

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