The Dutch House

I would have given the book just one star had it not been for the writing. The book has got a sublime poetic flow to it. It's as if there was a kind of silence attached to even the most climactic of scenes. It would have worked. For me, it would have worked so well had the story itself not been so problematic.If you've read so far already, please don't leave without reading this: Do NOT have kids if you plan to abandon them. Not leave for sometime, not leave to pursue your dreams, not leave to achieve a higher goal, but Abandon. Abandon. Yes, that's what this mother did and for what? Because she wanted to help the poor? Helping the poor is absolutely fine but not at the cost of abandoning the kids that you CHOSE to have. There's a pretty thick line between leaving and abandoning and even a four-year-old can see that. And what's the excuse? That men do it, too?! That Buddha did it too? Well, guess what? Buddha was WRONG to have abandoned his kids (his RESPONSIBILITY) and it's high time we started to see it for what it was. The kids survived, sure, but even this world could have survived with one less religion for people to kill each other over. You abandon your responsibilities to teach people how to be good and responsible?! Way to go.However, I'd have still liked the book a tad bit better had the protagonist stuck to his initial resolve against his mother for abandoning them. But no, he fell for the Buddha example and tried to forgive her. Not to mention how his dear sister didn't even try to understand him. She thought since it was so easy for HER to forgive her mother and move on, it should be the same for her brother as well. And if he did not forgive her, then HE was the one being immature. Sure, you abandon your kids, then come back more than forty years later with your sob story, expecting your kids to somehow miraculously forgive you. And if they don't, THEY are the ones being unfair and unreasonable, petty and begrudging.I'm sorry but what was the author thinking? Why has she justified child abandonment? Not having kids is absolutely fine, even I don't plan on having any AT ALL. But choosing to have kids and then abandoning them? Writing a novel to justify it? How messed up is that?Now, down to the nitty gritties, there was absolutely no character growth. And every character who wasn't Catholic or had a problem with Catholicism has been portrayed as evil, or at least less good than a Catholic. This disturbing religious undertone was really frustrating. No one cares about your Catholicism if you're someone who abandons their kids at an early age, that too for your own comfort and not that of your kids. Kids are people, not projects. I mean, why was Andrea so evil? Why wasn't she given a character arc? Why are the characters so black and white?No, this book was a mistake. Not reading it, but writing it.

I started reading this book early this year and yet, it took me months to finish reading it. This is not to say that the book was bad. Au contraire! I did not want the book to end.I began enjoying Danny Conroy’s narration of his life and experiences starting from his childhood in the Dutch House till a time he learnt to deal with emotions he had locked away and ignored for most of his life.Ann Patchett has a way with her words. With each syllable, she paints a picture so vivid that you find yourself transforming into this invisible entity standing afar and witnessing Danny and his sister Meave (the girl in the gorgeous portrait on the cover of the book) grow over a period of roughly five decades.As for the plot, it all starts and ends at the Dutch House. If I were to really point to one antagonist, for me, it would have be the house; not Danny’s mother who abandoned her children at a ripe age to ‘help those in need’; not Andrea, his step-mother who banished Danny and Meave from the Dutch House after the death of their father; not his father Cyril, who bought this house for his wife but ended up driving her away; not Fluffy, his former nanny who was fired for beating Danny to a point he bled; nor Celeste, his wife who detested everything his beloved sister stood for. It has to be the house. Although only a portion of their lives is actually spent in the house, they wouldn’t be where they were if not for the house.I was almost sad when I realized there were no pages left to turn. It will be a while before I can read another book. I’ll stop overselling this one and wait for you to read and let me know what you thought of it.

While the chapter three is the weakest, with rushing through the last 20 pages or so to give it a fairytale ending or preaching throughout the said chapter about the virtue of forgiveness and helping those in need, it is the relationship between Mauve and Danny that shines through. Despite being years apart, they are congenital twins still wrapped around each other with an invisible umbilical cord. One can not help but wonder how memories can make or break a person.

Bookstagram account❤️ pagesof_niruAnn Patchett is a terrific novelist. I loved the central character Maeve and this story is of siblings Danny and Maeve and The exquisite Dutch house. It is unputdownable and the story is so close to reality. A family story full of Care love and Bondage ❤️. It's a time travel story for me .. I recalled so many memories with my Granny's 🏠. The best message from Maeve is LEAVING PAST TO THE PAST and forgive and move on 😊. Hope you have read this and if you haven't go get this copy It was a pre order from @amazondotin at lowest price.#bookstagrammer #bibliophile #booknerd #booklover #thedutchhouse #maeve #annpatchett #indianbookstagrammer #bengaluru #bookish #bookphotography #fiction #bookworm #bookcommunity #bookaddict #fictionreads #bookpic #bookpost #bookmail

This is the kind of book I can read for the rest of my life. The writing is sublime. The story revolves around the Dutch House. Danny narrates the story of his sister, Maeve and their life. I loved both the characters, especially Maeve who'll have a permanent place in my heart. Their mother, Elna who is an impermanent fixture in their lives , can be a topic of several discussions in book clubs. The Dutch House brings out awe or disgust in the characters and makes you want to take sides.Do read the Books & Covers essay by the author at the end of the book wherein she compares books and their covers to roses and bees.

A fascinating book that seems to create a story revolving around this house and it's relationship with a family. There's history and trauma, devastation and revival. This story haunts you after you have finished it however while reading it, I felt like I was always waiting for it to get more interesting.

Beautifully written

Puedo recomendar.

Patchett is a genius wordsmith. Her writing is intelligent, compassionate, artistic, and heart breakingly real. "The Dutch House" is full of lessons on how to be better humans.

I have read some very good comments of the book, so I bought it. But I think the author can expan deeper into each character, how they become who they are today, especially the mother and step mother. I do like that the house and the painting are the threads throughout the story, the memories of the past have casted shadows on the siblings lives, people make a peace with their past when they look back, and the forgiveness and weakness in people are so true in real life.

自粛の暇つぶしに、ニューヨークタイムズのベストセラーリストに入っている中から面白そうだと思って購入Part 2くらいまでは、DannyやMeaveの運命の行方や、CelesteとMeaveの登場人物の関係性のリアルさに引き込まれて久しぶりに面白い本に当たったな！と思ってサクサク読めましたしかし後半に行くに連れて、情報量のみが多くなり誰がどうなったのかがより淡々と描写されるだけになって、さらっと物語が終わるのが少し寂しかったです