THE
HOUSE WE GREW UP IN
BY
LISA JEWELL
THE
BLURB:-
When
a tragedy breaks a family apart, what can bring it back together?
The
Birds seemed to be the perfect family: mother, father, four children,
a picture-book cottage in the country.
But
when something happens one Easter weekend, it is so unexpected, so
devastating, that no one can talk about it.
The
family shatters, seemingly forever.
Until
they are forced to return to the house they grew up in. And to
confront what really took place all those years ago.
THE
REALITY:-
It's only been days
since my last book review, and there are two reasons for that: the
first is that I have been off work with the lurgy- a combination of a
throat/ chest infection and also issues created by losing a filling
and developing a hairline crack in a back tooth, right into the gums.
One emergency dental visit and a temporary filling later, a root
filling and crown beckon. Or an extraction and an implant. A
denture was also a mentioned option, but I don't take my teeth out
and put them in a glass by the bed, thank-you-very-much...what would
all of my boyfriends think? (Mind you, in some cultures women's
teeth are pulled out so that they can give better blow jobs- go
figure!) The second reason was that this book was un-putdownable.
But.... I have to say
that this novel failed to touch me, even in my mad race through to
the end. Why? Were certain issues too familiar? Or were they not
fully developed to something more satisfying?
I didn't find the Bird
children's upbringing perfect. In fact, it was a classic example of
something looking wonderful from the outside but with a sickness at
its very core. I didn't like the character of Lorelei and would have
found her bloody annoying as a mother. She was a hoarder who liked
to bring on the waterworks when challenged with regard to her
affliction. I can certainly relate to the character of her eldest
daughter, Meg, who's pedantically tidy, possibly as a rebellious
reaction to her cluttered childhood. I have friends who keep
mementoes for years, whereas I throw everything out once it's past
its use. Birthday cards go into recycling a couple of weeks (if
that) after the event and a newspaper gets read then chucked. I've
been known to invite a friend round for dinner and start the washing
up before they've finished, snatching the plate from them whilst
they're still eating! My partner says I have OCD. I don't- I just
hate clutter and mess, and that comes from having a mother who didn't
like throwing things out, despite threatening to 'put her hand on her
heart' and have a good clear-out. She wasn't an unhealthy hoarder
like Lorelei, though- I think it was because she was brought up with
a wartime mentality; therefore anything remotely useful was saved
'just in case'. I also hated the character of hanger-on, cuckoo in
the nest Vicky, and worked out her lesbianism long before it was
revealed. Well, this book obviously aroused some emotion in me. All
in all, the other characters were an interesting (if raggle-taggle)
bunch and the different dated aspects of the story slotted together
well.
But- SPOILER ALERTS
SUPREME COMING!- I didn't see Rhys's suicide hovering on the horizon and it was very
interesting how that event had a knock-on affect on the lives of his
family, probably because the issues surrounding it were never
discussed. He was a bit pervy, and I can certainly relate to having
such a brother. Why they behave as they do, I do not know...
Frustration? Lack of affection? Confusion regarding what's
appropriate and what's not? Muddling up sex and love? Once it
became clear that this sad, disturbed little sixteen-year-old boy's
sexual behaviour was directly responsible for him taking his own
life, I galloped to the end- only to be disappointed. So; he tried
it on with his mother, she pushed him away and walked out. I would
have liked for this scenario to be developed into something MUCH more
explicit and devastating, as it came across as tame and not worthy of
a reason for him to do what he did.
This book finished on a
pleasant whimper rather than the devastating scream I would have
liked, but I'm glad I read it.
