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A review by jellichor
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
3.0
3.5 ***
I’m not quite sure what to say about this book. Where to start… or what to include… as I don’t want to give anything away - although to be fair with almost 40,000 reviews on Amazon, and over 250,000 on Goodreads you’ve likely read it already! I’ve included an excerpt below anyhow which I think gives a pretty good idea of the overall story -
“ It all happened so slowly, yet so extraordinarily quickly, the change to our parents, to our home, to our lives after they arrived. But that first night, when Birdie appeared on our front step with two large suitcases and a cat in a wicker box, we could never have guessed the impact she would have, the other people she would bring into our lives, that it would all end the way it did. “
The book is laid out in chapters bouncing from the present back to the past and with multiple different characters, so if you’re not a fan of that style this book may be a struggle. I found it manageable but I’ve heard some readers found it jarring going from a dark and moody past tense setting, to a more recognisable every day ‘now’. It made it hard for them to keep in the right atmosphere for the ‘thriller’ parts of the story.
In the present tense the main protagonist is Libby who has turned 25 and just inherited a mansion in Chelsea, London. With it comes a huge amount of questions and intrigue, and yes you’ve guessed it, the past is where the answers are.
This is my first Lisa Jewell which I stumbled upon in a charity shop and although I’d seen The Family Upstairs everywhere, I hadn’t yet been compelled to pick it up. I decided it was time to give it a go and I’ve come away unsure of my opinion on it. I’m not sure I liked it but it definitely kept me intrigued enough to read it quite quickly. I can’t say I felt much connection to the characters, they felt somewhat lacking in development. I guessed a few twists along the way but not all, which was a plus!
I’m not quite sure what to say about this book. Where to start… or what to include… as I don’t want to give anything away - although to be fair with almost 40,000 reviews on Amazon, and over 250,000 on Goodreads you’ve likely read it already! I’ve included an excerpt below anyhow which I think gives a pretty good idea of the overall story -
“ It all happened so slowly, yet so extraordinarily quickly, the change to our parents, to our home, to our lives after they arrived. But that first night, when Birdie appeared on our front step with two large suitcases and a cat in a wicker box, we could never have guessed the impact she would have, the other people she would bring into our lives, that it would all end the way it did. “
The book is laid out in chapters bouncing from the present back to the past and with multiple different characters, so if you’re not a fan of that style this book may be a struggle. I found it manageable but I’ve heard some readers found it jarring going from a dark and moody past tense setting, to a more recognisable every day ‘now’. It made it hard for them to keep in the right atmosphere for the ‘thriller’ parts of the story.
In the present tense the main protagonist is Libby who has turned 25 and just inherited a mansion in Chelsea, London. With it comes a huge amount of questions and intrigue, and yes you’ve guessed it, the past is where the answers are.
This is my first Lisa Jewell which I stumbled upon in a charity shop and although I’d seen The Family Upstairs everywhere, I hadn’t yet been compelled to pick it up. I decided it was time to give it a go and I’ve come away unsure of my opinion on it. I’m not sure I liked it but it definitely kept me intrigued enough to read it quite quickly. I can’t say I felt much connection to the characters, they felt somewhat lacking in development. I guessed a few twists along the way but not all, which was a plus!