Hello bookworms, I fear I have been absent for a few months, but it’s okay because December is a good month for big reunions, coinciding with Santa. I also come bearing gifts (my love… that’s all) and a review!!! I read The Dutch House a few months ago, but with my mom reading it currently, I felt now was a good time to share my thoughts on it.

“But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we’re not seeing it as the people we were, we’re seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered.”
― The Dutch House

Genre: Historical Fiction, Family, Contemporary.

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Publisher: September 24, 2019 by Harper

Length: 337 pages, Hardcover.

summary:

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested (via Goodreads).

my thoughts

This is a captivating read. Per the reviews, I listened to the audiobook and was not disappointed by the narration; Tom Hanks, something about his voice, succeeded in effortlessly coming off as the main character. I will admit that audiobooks can sometimes be a hit or miss, and after reading this and loving it so much, I am happy Tom Hanks doesn’t have a monotone voice. If you can access the library or an audiobook app (I love Libby!) PLEASE listen to it; no regrets here.

Not to spend too much time on Tom here, but because of him, I felt unable to stop listening. I particularly enjoyed how everything he said almost came off like a question. It was just how I felt Danny, the main character, would be. Everything he felt was so bottled up inside him that he most likely would question everything in his life if given the time or chance. That’s not a rare coping mechanism, given the most traumatic thing he endured happened when he was too young to process it. And after the fact, he was almost sheltered by a sibling only a few years older.

Essentially, I would hate to spoil too much, as the book, although it has a few twists, comes down to the core content, which is simply Danny’s mind. You have to read this to understand it. This comes off as an ambiguous review, but the story is so enjoyable and nuanced, trust me. Much of my love for the story came from the characters’ authenticity, which stemmed from my knowing little before meeting them.

“Fluffy always said there was no greater luxury for a woman than to have a window over the sink.”
― The Dutch House

I could genuinely take Danny for how he presented himself to me. The book allows the reader to comprehend his flaws and ways of thinking and processing, and he gradually becomes as familiar as a friend would be, and by the end, he is a comfort to know. When the reader thinks a lot about what plagues Danny and the odd behaviour, this almost obsession they have with their past and past house, it is nearly silly. Because we know he is a grown man with a family and is actively repeating the things that were done to him differently. The pattern of abandonment lives differently in him than it did in his mother, but it’s there all the same. Observing this in a character you come to respect and adore, in a way, is bittersweet and nearly heartbreaking. Ann Patchett does an incredible job of relaying the hurt and patterns of trauma that arise in those who have suffered.

I have always and will always adore any highlights of sibling relationships in novels. I cherish it so deeply that I love any book that covers one already. After finishing the book, I have mixed feelings about Danny’s sister and their relationship. I don’t blame either of them for anything. It is evident that everything they did, this bond they shared, though definitely outside the bonds of a completely healthy relationship, was just something they weren’t strong enough to overcome. And that is just the reality for many. It does not make either of them faulty or malicious in their actions.

This book felt very real. The problems it dealt with, in terms of family matters, the trauma many people never confront from their childhood, or the troubles one’s parents can project onto their children, influence many people. Being a perfect parent is impossible; that makes no sense to me. Everyone grows together; one of the most beautiful aspects of family is that you evolve with your parents. When I was younger, my parents were adults. They were the leading authority figures in my life. They seemed so big and powerful. I respected and loved them a lot, and none of this changed as I got older, but I came to appreciate different facets of who they were. They were no longer only two things to me, holding the parent title. They were also human; once a child understands this, the relationship shifts to something more authentic. When I got older, I did not actively decide to keep respecting them, but I believe I subconsciously did. In doing so, I don’t hold any mistake they could’ve made or will make against them. That is unfair. And it is unjust to me, as that would mean they could do the same, and I am confident I make mistakes.

“Disappointment comes from expectation,”
― The Dutch House

The Dutch House let me into the mind of a young boy who never shifted in his perception towards his father, and his perception of many events in his life felt stunted as if they ended when they happened. That is a naive way of thinking. Because things that occur in life, especially those that are unpleasant, continue to live with us. And they get heavier if we don’t do anything about it. That’s what happened to Danny.

To speak on Ann Patchett, god, I need more of her. What a masterful author; her work is genuinely beautiful. I highly recommend reading The Dutch House and, frankly, any of her other novels.

about the author

Ann Patchett is an American author. She received the 2002 PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction in the same year, for her novel Bel Canto. Patchett’s other novels include The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s Assistant, Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, The Dutch House, and Tom Lake.

Thanks for reading!