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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

October 7, 2019

dutch

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Published by Harper
Publication date: September 24, 2019
four-stars
Bookshop

Maeve and Danny live of a life of contrasts. Their house is by far the grandest in their neighborhood and money is not something they ever have to think about, but their mother left when Danny was only three and Maeve ten. Their father is a taciturn man who excels at real estate, but shows little interest in either of his children. What they have is each other and it’s enough, until their father marries Andrea, a much younger woman who seems to love their home, known as the Dutch House, more than anything else. When he dies unexpectedly, she kicks Maeve and Danny out, leaving them to fend for themselves. Their story and its orbit around their old home is at the heart of Ann Patchett’s new novel, The Dutch House.

At the time Maeve is 21 and living on her own, working as an accountant. Danny is 15, works in construction on his father’s sites and plays basketball. They are blindsided by Andrea, but Maeve soon finds a way to exact her own revenge and salvage a future for Danny.  It is the first of many instances where Maeve will put Danny’s needs ahead of her own. Maeve leads and Danny follows.  But in the decades that follow, their childhood home haunts them. They return to sit outside its gates for long periods reminiscing and conjuring bleak outcomes for their stepmother.

Within the novel’s chapters Patchett shifts amongst time periods so that in one moment Maeve and Danny are sitting outside the Dutch House in their twenties and in the next it is the present day. This could be disorienting, but not with Patchett. There is such assurance to her writing that there is no worry about losing the narrative. She guides, we follow. There are bombshells and trip wires throughout The Dutch House, much in the same way there are in real life, which is just how Patchett portrays them. All that’s left is to fumble through and Maeve and Danny do so with a family bond that cracks and splits, but never breaks.

Recently, I’ve read a fair number of novels with siblings gone wrong (The Grammarians) or, at the very least, siblings with seriously dysfunctional relationships (The Most Fun We Ever Had). This made Maeve and Danny feel like reaching calm water after months on a stormy sea. Their love for and caring about each other is the foundation in The Dutch House. For all intents and purposes, Maeve is a mother figure to Danny and her devotion to him is touching. Which is not to say this is a novel of persevering against all odds with sweetness and light. It’s much richer than that with both Maeve and Danny have welcome depth and texture. She is resourceful, wily, and indomitable while he is the peacemaker who wants nothing more than to do what his big sister wants him to do. And yet, Patchett gives him dominance by telling the story solely from his point of view.

The Dutch House is everything I need in my fiction. Patchett’s writing is the kind I love most: tough, tender, and intelligent, with an undercurrent of wit. Just as she did in her last novel, Commonwealth, she takes an unusual, negative circumstance and through it illuminates the power of family ties. She makes me believe and care for her characters and their lives so deeply that my only criticism of the novel is that it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. There is no flaw in Patchett’s writing, she just makes a choice I didn’t agree with. Which is one more indication of her gift—her stories strike so deep at the heart of human nature everyone interprets them through their own lens.

 

 

four-stars

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14 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: American life, book clubs, family, Harper, literary, relationships

Comments

  1. Dawn F says

    October 7, 2019 at 7:36 am

    Beautiful review – I loved this story as well! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:50 am

      I loved that it was tender, but not mushy. Their relationship felt so real.

      Reply
  2. Kristin says

    October 7, 2019 at 9:34 am

    Interesting – your description of the first part of the plot reminds me of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:51 am

      I read that so long ago, I can’t even remember, but I wouldn’t be surprised. It had a fairy tale feel without going overboard.

      Reply
  3. Darlene @ Lost in Literature says

    October 7, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    Gonna put this one on my Christmas list. I have Commonwealth on my shelf, unread so far, but I read Bel Canto this year and was positively SWOONING over it. This review just draws me into this one. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:52 am

      I am so afraid of Bel Canto! The people I know who have read it are split right down the middle. Half think it’s one of their favorite books ever and the other half hated it and some couldn’t even finish it. I need to wait until I’m in a calmer head space to try it!

      Reply
  4. Susie | Novel Visits says

    October 7, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    Now you have me very curious. How did you see The Dutch House ending? I had pretty much expected it, but maybe not some of the events leading up to it. Enough said!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:54 am

      Maeve’s actions and choices surprised me. I guess I’m more like Danny- which is as much as I can say without spoilers, but I think you know what I’m referring to.

      Reply
  5. susan says

    October 9, 2019 at 11:31 am

    Is this your favorite Patchett novel? I’ve heard a few others say it is …. so I’m on the list for it.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:57 am

      It’s funny- my favorite book by her is her memoir, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I’ve rated all of her fiction 4 stars and thoroughly enjoyed it, but not sure I could pick a favorite. I think I liked Commonwealth a bit more.

      Reply
      • susan says

        October 14, 2019 at 2:04 pm

        Yes. I really liked her memoir and I wonder if I like her nonfiction more. So I could vote for Happy Marriage as the best.

        Reply
    • Laila says

      October 12, 2019 at 7:13 pm

      Gotta read this!

      Reply
  6. Margo L. MacArthur says

    March 12, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    thought the Dutch House was better than Common Wealth and Bel Canto. Its pace was excellent, its characters enthralling and its story one-of-a-kind. There really is nothing I can compare it with.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      March 13, 2020 at 4:39 pm

      I’ve never read Bel Canto and know a lot of people who have tried and quit. I think it is a love it or hate it book!

      Reply

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