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A review by chrissireads
The House by Simon Lelic
3.0
The House centres around Jack and Sydney who are hopeful that they’ll get a house in London. They have been saving for a while and looking for their dream home. One day, they attend an Open Day of a house that ticks all of their boxes. The owner has gone to Australia to be with someone he met online. The owner has left the house completely furnished. Jack and Sydney put in an offer not expecting to get the house. Totally unexpectedly, Jack and Sydney get the house. Jack feels uncomfortable about the house and his feelings don’t change, especially when he finds stuff in the attic…
Jack and Sydney tell their story in the form of journal entries. The narration is different because it’s clear that the couple are writing for the purpose of showing someone. I really enjoyed the narration in The House. I loved how we got to see the story from each point of view and I particularly enjoyed the moments when they spoke to each other within their entry. Using this narration, meant the story unfolded slowly. It was clear that something had happened and for quite some time the reader doesn’t know. I think this definitely helped to keep my interest. Through this medium, the reader learns about many events both past and present. We learn that Sydney had an awful childhood and that she has lost her sister (I don’t want to say too much about this as it will spoil the reading experience!) Sydney befriends a little girl called Evie who reminds her of herself when she was younger. They go through very similar experiences and Sydney is determined to help Evie before it’s too late.
I was creeped out by this book at many points, it’s in no way a scary book, but there are some very unsettling things that happen. I hate (but really love) when I don’t know who to trust and that was totally the case with this book.
This book has really dark themes. There’s strong language, drug use and some quite explicit content. It’s about how something in the past can impact on your present day life. I was gripped at the start and the unique narration kept me turning the pages. The writing is good and the pace is quick. It’s certainly an easy book to read. I did guess who was responsible for some of the incidents in the book which was a shame, but I didn’t necessarily see the ending coming!
Jack and Sydney tell their story in the form of journal entries. The narration is different because it’s clear that the couple are writing for the purpose of showing someone. I really enjoyed the narration in The House. I loved how we got to see the story from each point of view and I particularly enjoyed the moments when they spoke to each other within their entry. Using this narration, meant the story unfolded slowly. It was clear that something had happened and for quite some time the reader doesn’t know. I think this definitely helped to keep my interest. Through this medium, the reader learns about many events both past and present. We learn that Sydney had an awful childhood and that she has lost her sister (I don’t want to say too much about this as it will spoil the reading experience!) Sydney befriends a little girl called Evie who reminds her of herself when she was younger. They go through very similar experiences and Sydney is determined to help Evie before it’s too late.
I was creeped out by this book at many points, it’s in no way a scary book, but there are some very unsettling things that happen. I hate (but really love) when I don’t know who to trust and that was totally the case with this book.
This book has really dark themes. There’s strong language, drug use and some quite explicit content. It’s about how something in the past can impact on your present day life. I was gripped at the start and the unique narration kept me turning the pages. The writing is good and the pace is quick. It’s certainly an easy book to read. I did guess who was responsible for some of the incidents in the book which was a shame, but I didn’t necessarily see the ending coming!