Not the usual suspense-thriller synopsis I've become accustomed to when reading Lisa Jewell's novels,
however, I was entranced by this novel from the get-co. The House We Grew Up In centers around a
mother and her four children over the span of a decade. The mother, Lorelei, has an extensive hobby of
collecting items that harbor a memory of time spent with her loved ones. Each and every memory--
meaning each and every item she just happens to come across. Lorelei is in fact a hoarder and it does not
get better with time. It gets worse. In addition to Lorelei's intense and overbearing lifestyle, her children
forego their relationship with their mother and each other in order to gain a sense of normalcy within their
individual lives. One of Lorelei's children committed suicide at a ripe age of sixteen and her other three
were simultaneously impacted by the act tremendously. Her other son took to finding a thrilling lifestyle
in all the wrong places. Her youngest daughter took to lying and deceitfulness towards the closest person
in her life--her older sister. Lorelei's oldest child is the daughter who argues with her the most and
critiques the hell out of her hoarding tendencies. Each character, along with the peripheral ones, has their
own agenda within the novel-- whether it be to process what they've gone through in their pasts or what
they plan on achieving with predicted futures.
The storyline wasn't the easiest to follow, jumping between times of "current day" and different years
within the decade. Although, once I had a jist of where I was within the time periods, I was comfortable
with reading the different POVs of each character. I found myself comparing that of the characters
lifestyle choices to that of some of my personal family members. Hoarding isn't an easy subject when it
comes to those who are doing the task or to those who are cleaning up the aftermath. I've undergone
having to explain to a loved one that their actions are both dangerous to their general health and that
what they're collecting isn't worth the hassle of going to get it, place it in certain areas, and never look
at it again. Hoarding isn't necessarily something an individual can turn on and off. It's a coping
mechanism-- one I've seen first hand. I believe that Jewell's story portrays this to a T and for that, I'm
a reverent fan of this novel.
I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in furthering a look into the familial dynamics
that come with understanding and accepting those who've got their own personal overcommences. This
novel covers a number of topics, but I believe it's the psychological aspect of the novel that works best--
not a thriller/suspense psychological, but a realistic, life-altering one.
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