It's a Family Affair

I've just finished 'The House We Grew Up In' by Lisa Jewell, sent to me by publisher's Random House.  It's not a book I would've picked for myself, but it made a change reading something 'off list'.

'The House We Grew Up In' is the story of the Bird family; children Megan, Beth, Rory and Rhys, dad Colin and mum Lorelei.  At the epicentre of family life is the sinister eccentric Lorelei, determined that the fixtures of a perfect, rose-tinted childhood remain in place while stubbornly ignoring anything that threatens her idyll.  The pinnacle of the year is Easter Sunday in the Cotswold family home, a day of guests, egg hunts and roast lamb.  But one year the cracks give way and a shocking act rocks the family's image of itself.  As relationships are tested, is it too late for the Birds?

'The House We Grew Up In'
by Lisa Jewell
(Century, 2013)

The first thing that struck me about this book was how absorbing it was, a credit to the author Lisa Jewell.  She adeptly manages several different voices from several different times, drip feeding individual stories to keep the narrative pushing forward and the reader engaged.

Just as I felt I was on safe ground and that I had a grasp on the characters because I could relate to them, however, their behaviour started to take unexpected turns.  I suppose it makes sense in the context of the story, but everything did go a bit 'soap opera-y' and feel a bit out there.  But because of the understanding I'd gained of the characters in the first part of the book, I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt as I wanted to know what would happen to them.

Overall, I'm not sure that this is a book I'd recommend to many people as it's subject matter is actually quite dark.  It's not really a book to enjoy in the conventional sense.  I liked the writing enough to want to read more by the author, however, and intend to do so.  But I rather need read some more on the list first!