64 pages 2 hours read

Lisa Jewell

The House We Grew Up In

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Symbols & Motifs

The Bird Family Home

The settings in the book, particularly the Bird family home, underscore the secretive and complex family ties and the characters’ different perspectives. When Lorelei and Colin first start their family, their house represents hope and the chance at a new life. It is in “one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds” (1), an idyllic and desirable area of England. The house symbolizes Lorelei’s mental state, and as she becomes increasingly entrenched in her trauma, the house becomes dirtier and more cluttered. This sense of emotional paralysis is enhanced by the gentrification taking place around the house. Lorelei references “ghastly gastro pubs” and resents the change (163), while Vicky approves of a new café in the village. As Lorelei becomes more isolated, the house is described as lodged “like a rotten tooth” (5) between the neighbors’ freshly decorated houses.

The house becomes increasingly unlivable in tandem with Lorelei’s isolation. As family members leave, their rooms become overrun with junk. Only Rhys’s room has not been touched, and its shrine-like state, frozen in 1991, symbolizes the way the Bird family has not moved on from his death. Lorelei’s resistance to change in the house—from Maddy’s desire to take over Rhys’s old bedroom to Vicky’s attempts to clear out some garbage—represents her inability to confront her trauma.

Related Titles

By Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Invisible Girl

Lisa Jewell

Invisible Girl: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

None of This Is True

Lisa Jewell

None of This Is True: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Family Remains

Lisa Jewell

The Family Remains

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Family Upstairs

Lisa Jewell

The Family Upstairs

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Girls in the Garden

Lisa Jewell

The Girls in the Garden: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Night She Disappeared

Lisa Jewell

The Night She Disappeared

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Watching You

Lisa Jewell

Watching You: A Novel

Lisa Jewell