The mother’s motivations were a bit less convincing to me, but I don’t want to go into them for fear of a spoiler.Īll up, this book was an enjoyable read, without being a hugely affecting or memorable one. His comment that few medical students were there because they actually wanted to become doctors was believable, as was the relationship between Danny and his wife. The exploration of Danny’s career choices, and the way we are thrust into roles in which we have no interest, was eye-opening. In my mind, I could see that beautiful bay window in Maeve’s old room, and the portraits staring down at the inhabitants. For some, it was a thing of pain, and for others, it had an irresistible pull. I enjoyed the setting that Patchett created, with the Dutch House looming over the lives of all who had resided there. The siblings’ love permeates the novel, as Maeve initially cares for her younger brother, taking on the role of a mother in his life. Writers who do this well include Jonathan Franzen, John Updike and Alice Munro.Īnd I know that Patchett can tackle the everyday as well as anyone, but after the halfway point, I didn’t feel she carried through on the novel’s early promise. I love reading about everyday lives as much as the next person, but I think that these books require a significant level of insight into the human condition. There is a little bit of conflict between Danny’s wife and his sister, and the story of the absent mother continues, yet it all seems a little … boring. However, it is hard to escape the sense that they are living ordinary lives, with nothing of much interest happening. The rest of the novel follows the lives of Danny and Maeve as they navigate life without their parents and the Dutch House. Unfortunately, this is also the point where the story loses a bit of its shine. They have no choice but to live in a house where they are treated as annoyances, although their new stepsisters adore them.įrom here, things collapse when their father dies, leaving the property to Andrea. When their father meets a woman, Andrea, who is fascinated by the house. The children, Maeve and Danny, were living alone with their father after their mother mysteriously left when Danny was a toddler. I was intrigued by the family who lived in the dutch house in the US, a large, glass-fronted house full of antiques overlooked by the portraits of the previous owners of the house. I loved reading Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth, so I was looking forward to reading her most recent novel about families, and all of the complication and complexity of those relationships.Īt the beginning, The Dutch House met the brief.
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