Publication Date: Out Now from Randomhouse.
Source: Goodreads Giveaway – thank you kindly.
Meet the Bird Family
All four children have an idyllic childhood: a picture-book cottage in a country village, a warm, cosy kitchen filled with love and laughter, sun-drenched afternoons in a rambling garden.
But one Easter weekend a tragedy strikes the Bird family that is so devastating that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear them apart.
Admittedly I have never read a Lisa Jewell book before – which tends to make people frown at me – so when I received The House We Grew Up In as part of a Goodreads Giveaway I was very excited. And boy, was this good or was this good?
Jumping between past and present we meet the Bird family. In the past, we have a seemingly idyllic childhood – Easter egg hunts, a laid back and relaxing lifestyle, full of fun and laughter and togetherness. Jump forward in time and the family are separate and fractured – as we begin to discover why, and watch them try and put themselves back together, it is emotional and fascinating reading.
Filled with a plethora of intriguing and very real characters, this was a wonderful reading experience. At turns sad, funny, unbelievably emotional and always compelling it was one of those novels you force yourself to put aside occasionally so you can savour the moment you come back to it – and of course, make it last just that bit longer..
I think my favourite pair have to be the enigmatic and very troubled Lorelei, offset by steadfast and opposite daughter Meg – as a real insight into how our upbringing can affect us, Meg is an almost perfect example for many reasons – having said that Ms Jewell manages to make every single character here deliciously captivating. As we see how each one reacts to tragedy, there is a depth and resonance to it that you don’t find in many family drama’s and I was totally hooked throughout.
Pyschologically speaking we have a look into a very real problem faced by some people – I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil the story – but that part of the novel is obviously well researched, absolutely fascinating and told in a genuinely moving way. Some of it did bring tears to my eyes.
Overall a fabulous and poignant tale of family – immediately putting Lisa Jewell on my must read list. Indeed I am reading “The Third Wife” as we speak – so I daresay you will be hearing about that one soon.
Follow Lisa on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/lisajewelluk
Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-We-Grew-Up/dp/0099559552/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404722118&sr=1-1&keywords=the+house+we+grew+up+in
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Happy Reading Folks!
Love Lisa Jewell..have read ‘One hit Wonder’ and the book about the sperm donor siblings. Her books are lighthearted but also have a lovely deep side to them.