A review by minimicropup
Watching You by Lisa Jewell

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Setting the Scene: 🇬🇧 A Bristol neighbourhood of colorful terraced homes on a hill.
POV: We follow a handful of characters January to March 2017. We have the perspectives of a sporty teen dealing with a mentally ill mother, an introverted teen crossing the boundaries of observation vs peeping, and a newlywed couple living with family while struggling to adult. Every few chapters we have excerpts of police interviews investigating a murder.

Mood Reading Match-Up:
  • Community and family analysis peeking behind closed doors, the-secrets-we-keep dramas
  • Contemporary fiction with visceral not-all-is-as-it-seems character studies and connections
  • Coming-of-age coming-to-truth of family history and dynamics 
  • Exploring themes of friendship, assumption, judgement, student-teacher dynamics, self-discovery, secrets, shame, lies, first impressions, and irony.  
 
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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🎬 Tale-Telling: Third-person perspective that felt as intimate as reading someone’s diary. We witnessed the characters’ most private moments, fears, and desires. The storytelling was zippy, with lots of insights and snippets into the lives of the community. I couldn't help but make judgements, and loved having my assumptions challenged at the next turn.

🤓 Reader’s Role: Analyst and Observer: As a reader, one could choose to be a passive onlooker and/or invest in piecing together the puzzle, trying to read between the lines of what’s said and unsaid.

👥 Characters: I like that each character was crafted to blur the lines between victim and villain, observer and participant. And it didn’t feel contrived or over-the-top, more like what you’d expect the day-to-day struggles of a community of people if you could sneak behind closed doors.  There were elements strategically left out for understanding the peripheral characters, but their actions weren’t hidden behind ‘if only you knew’ baiting. Rather they were wrapped in layers of moral ambiguity, which could be good book club discussion fodder for questioning our various perceptions and biases.

🗺️ Ambiance: The neighbourhood was well-established, with a mix of modern renovations and dated homes, mirroring the diversity and complexity of most urban neighbourhoods and inhabitants. I had trouble imaging how it could tower over so many streets until I checked out Google Earth of the area, and then it all came together.

🔥 Fuel: The story thrived on unraveling friendships and murky motivations. I don’t think you need to like any of the characters to enjoy the story, but if it doesn’t spark your curiosity, then I imagine it could feel meandering. The suspense leaves lots of room for speculation, discussion, and predictions. It often subtly asked the question  of how well we really know those around us – and ourselves.

🚙 Journey: Reading this was like taking a stroll through a neighbourhood while glancing in the uncovered windows and seeing snippets of everyone’s life. The build-up to the ending was steady and suspenseful, with emotional depth, psychological intrigue, and twists that unfolded with precision and surprised me.

Random Thoughts
🤓 What worked: Brilliant character crafting. Eerie and questionable actions that were surprisingly relatable. Flipping conventional perceptions and the examination of human behaviour.
🫠 What didn’t: The resolution was a touch idealistic. I noticed that as secrets came to light for the reader, perspectives of some characters seemed to shift even though they didn’t yet know what we knew.
 
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Content Heads-Up: Mental illness (paranoia, delusions). Infidelity (emotional, physical). Pregnancy (brief; not graphic). Stalking/peeping/tracking. Adult/minor relationship (insinuation, discussion). Domestic abuse (spouses and parent-child; physical, verbal). Suicide (recall, discussed; off page). Bullying (recall, discussed; off page). Murder. Fatphobia (calorie restriction; comments). Codependent/toxic relationships.
Rep: White and ambiguous Brits. Neurodivergence (autism spectrum; disorganized thinking). Cisgender. Heterosexual relationships.

👀 Format: Paperback

(First read this Dec 27, 2018; re-read Feb 4, 2024. Still loved it!)
 
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