Finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeNew York Times Bestseller | A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick | A New York Times Book Review Notable Book | TIME Magazine’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2019Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post; O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Refinery29, and BuzzfeedAnn Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling … NPR, The Washington Post; O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Refinery29, and Buzzfeed
Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, delivers her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.
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 unshakeable 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.
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I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars because it was that good. Ann Patchett is right at the top of my very favorite authors. This is a book that anyone who likes to read great fiction will enjoy.Those who have read previous books of hers will find out it is even better than you hoped for.When I finished The Dutch House I felt a disappointment that I couldn’t just pick it up and continue reading.
What a beautiful cover! It’s what originally drew me to the book. I’ll admit, it wasn’t at all what I was expecting, and it really is moving and beautifully written, but…
The Dutch House is the childhood home of Maeve and Danny Conroy. They were abandoned by their mother. Their father, who is distant and truly seems uninterested in them, eventually remarries a truly awful woman who, upon their father’s death four years later, immediately kicks them out of the house. Here in lies the “fairy tale” aspect I suppose.
The story, which is told in three parts, takes place across five decades and is narrated by Danny. The first part of the story really drew me in. What is it about this house? Why did their mother leave? Why did their father remarry this particular woman (it never seems like he even likes her much)? Why are Maeve and Danny kicked out? How could their father not have prepared for something like this?? SO many questions that I expect to be answered as I continue to read.
The second part was decent, but this is also were things start to not make sense. I started having lots of questions that just weren’t being answered – particularly about some of the choices the characters make. I also never fully understood why Maeve and Danny stalk the House. What was the purpose, other than to torture themselves and sit in misery? Then there were the time jumps. They would happen from one paragraph to the next, sometimes one sentence to the next with no page break or indication it was about to happen. I don’t mind novels that go back and forth across different periods of time, but these were confusing.
Then Part Three came. There were things that just didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the novel. Certain events and explanations didn’t make sense. I wanted to YELL at the characters, or better yet, the author.
I appreciated the relationship between the siblings, even as codependent as they were. It makes sense given their past. Their bond was probably the best part of the story for me.
What started out so beautifully ultimately ended in disaster for me. My star rating just continued to fall as I read the book. In the end, I give it 2.5 stars simply because there were parts I enjoyed.
I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it.
I read this book for book club and found it to be a decent story. However, I was less than wowed by it. Basically it is the story of a family living in a house whose prior owners were Dutch, so it was called the Dutch House. It follows the narrator as he tells the story of his life in this house from the time he was a child. There are issues along the way that make the house untouchable for him, but it comes full circle. I kept waiting for something more to happen, some plot twist or secret revealed. But it never happened. So, for me, this was a decent story but not one that will stick with me.
I started reading this book over a year ago and put it down because I just could not get into it. Then, I downloaded the audio version of it and was hooked. Tom Hanks’ narration is what made the story come alive. The story between the brother and the sister is what really made it for me.
I have always enjoyed Ann Patchett’s books, though I was drawn to this one as much by the cover as by the promised contents. I listened to the audiobook read by Tom Hanks, who did a wonderful job.
The Dutch House is the best kind of literary novel: good writing that isn’t trying to impress with extra clever turns of phrase; realistic, flawed, and well-drawn characters; an immersive setting. This story is poignant, funny, and compelling in a quiet way. It’s definitely a character-driven novel but never felt slow or boring. I loved every minute.
Strange. Not one of her best.
This is the first book I’ve ever read whose text and cover captivated me equally. It’s as though the author and the artist were the same person. As I read, I kept turning back to the cover for some extra perspective on the past that so sharply defines Mauve and Danny Conroy, the central characters. As their story draws you in, so does the exquisite painting whose execution is so pivotal in their lives.
Mauve and Danny are the children of Cyril Conroy, a post-World War II landlord who surprises his wife one day with a dazzling gift: a museum-like mansion still containing relics of its former owners. His pride in rising from humble soldier to successful investor blinds him to the deleterious effects of the house on his family. Mauve and Danny are unable to recover from subsequent events, especially their mother’s unexplained disappearance and their taciturn father’s remarriage to a scheming younger woman. Everything that follows grows from their obsession with the injustice this house represents.
Over the course of many years, the edifice retains a hypnotic grip on Mauve and Danny, who park outside it occasionally to reminisce and speculate about things they have never understood. Even their ex-nanny and maids cannot extricate themselves from its spell, or from the children they served. This common thread serves to bind them in both love and conflict.
Mauve and Danny’s devotion to each other is the essence of the story, and that’s what I enjoyed most. Disagreements, quarrels, even their opposing reactions to a critical event late in the narrative cannot separate them. Otherwise, their tragedy would be unbearable. I think that’s why I like the cover so much. I will always remember Mauve best as the strong-willed older sister posing before a wall of fluttering swallows, and the sad circumstances which made her the object of the painting.
Reluctantly, I deduct one rating star from The Dutch House for occasional foul language. Otherwise, I loved every word of it.
This was an engrossing literary novel. The characters were wonderfully developed, pacing was perfect and the plot had just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me wanting more. It was one of those novels I hated to see end, it was like I’d made new friends and wanted to see what would happen next in their lives. I highly recommend this novel.
I loved this novel about the bond between two siblings and their shared obsession with their stately child hood home, now owned by someone else.
I was excited to get this book, as I normally like all of the author’s writing. However, this one was a disappointment. Never really seemed to engage me in the characters plus just seemed to drag on; could have used an editor who would cut it back by maybe a third.
Loved this book. It’s not particularly fast-moving, and yet I was utterly drawn into Danny and Maeve’s world, not to mention the house itself. So many themes and nuances. It makes for the perfect book-club read.
I lived in the same home my entire childhood. Everytime I visit the city where I grew up, I drive past the house. Houses hold memories.
Since the moment I heard about this book, I was told that I MUST listen to it on audiobook! I’m so glad that I took that advice. Tom Hanks did an amazing job of bringing this story to life!
The Dutch House is a story of a dysfunctional family that centers around a grandiose house in Pennsylvania. Of course, this dysfunctional family includes an absent mother, an evil stepmother, and two stepsisters.
This story is told from the POV of Danny and follows him and his sister Maeve from childhood into adulthood. The Dutch House itself plays such a pivotal role in this story, that it’s practically a character in and of itself. This story does jump around timelines a bit and doesn’t draw out an exact timeline, but it’s still fairly easy to follow along.
If this is a book that you’ve been looking at reading, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the audiobook!
Not knowing who’s reading the audio book, I pushed the start button. I was sure it was Tom Hanks, but how I didn’t know? After that excitement, the entire story was as if being told over the afternoon tea.. I was mad when Danny’s mom left and just like him, became mad again when she re-appeared in his late life for his sister. At the end of the day, we have to share compassion and forgiveness.
Ann Patchett’s “The Dutch House,” begins with a unique premise: what happens to a home when its owners are no longer living? The house itself is a key character is this haunting family saga. The little details make the story vivid: hair found in a hairbrush resting on a vanity. “The Dutch House” is a beautifully written story that will have you asking questions about and reflecting on your life and legacy.
Best Ann Patchett since Bel Canto!
Though this book does not have a “big” plot, it’s a page-turner because of the wonderful characters.
Book Bub needs to expand its list of adjectives for the recommendations.
This is a lovely book. As an author, I absorbed the beautiful writing like a sponge. As a designer, I loved the house-as-character. Not only was the house a character; the sentences were architecture.
This book is not about the plot; the plot is the means of delivering the art.
If you want to be a good writer, read this book.
A family saga, and a house that defined their lives. Maeve and Danny Conroy are 6 years apart, and they live in The Dutch House, with their father Cyril. Their mother, Elna, left when Danny was 4 and Maeve was 10. Later, Cyril married Andrea, who along with her daughters, Norma and Bright, moved into the house.
Maeve and Danny were meant to feel like outsiders and were soon pushed out of the house. Maeve, Brilliant in math, cared for Danny, and set him up to attend boarding school, then Columbia for college and need school. Danny didn’t want to be a doctor, he wanted to be like his father, and buy and sell real estate.
Maeve and Danny depended on each other, and whenever they would get together, they would drive to The Dutch House and sit in the car in front of the house and talk about all they had lost. The house had an overwhelming pull on them.
This is a story of love and loss, of relationships of family, and those that are like family. It is a story of caring for one another and for holding on to each other. It is a story of learning from the past, but not letting the past define you.
This is a sweeping saga told over 50 years, of a family that is rich financially, but needs to learn to be rich emotionally.
I believe this book has many lessons to it, told against a backdrop of glitter and dust, from Philadelphia to NYC. It will stay with me for some time.
#TheDutchHouse #AnnPatchett