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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Ann Patchett makes every novel both a master-class on tight plotting and development, and an untaxing wander through the minds of her characters. Playing loosely with time, The Dutch House follows a male narrator (how interesting!) through his life dealing with a modern take on the wicked stepmother. It’s an absolutely fantastic read. I hear the audiobook is done with Tom Hanks, so I’m going to seek that out and listen in a few months, for an added treat.
Incredible rhythm to the prose. Maeve is an all-time character.
I loved getting lost in this story. Excellent character development. Even the house had character.
This is my favorite of Ann Patchett’s books. It’s a book to savor, with writing that sings and soars. I won’t explain the plot as it would reduce this story to a series of events in a dysfunctional family–and that’s not the point. The two main characters–the narrator Danny and his bold, hurting sister Maeve–are a pair united against the world who, despite their closeness, still hold different memories of events. As an adult, Danny repeats the mistake of his father at times–for example, marrying a woman and then buying a house for her that she doesn’t want. But he grows wise and thoughtful, and his reflections on his sister and their past suggest the sort of psychological layering and evolution that are pure pleasure to behold in a novel. Masterful. Highly recommend.
Listening to Ann Patchett’s story of The Dutch House on audiobook was a highlight for me during the month of April. Tom Hanks does an amazing job of narrating the novel from the male perspective of the boy in the story and I highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the option to do so.
Ms. Patchett’s writing is both humorous and brilliant and I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout the story. The characters, including the Dutch House itself, are unique and intriguing. I was captivated by the character’s journey and felt as though I was watching a movie as Ms. Patchett’s words washed over me with such depth and instantaneous imagery. I am a fan of Ms. Patchett’s writing style and look forward to reading more books by this author. A great read!
Loved this so much. Great characters, and a very moving story. I loved how the story unfolded in conversation between the two main characters. Highly recommended!
Audiobook read by Tom Hanks fabulous !!
This was a great story with memorable characters.
This was not a typical read, but it was a thought-provoking book. I am still mulling over how things were handled; how I might or might not have handled them myself. It was a book of realistic issues, with life’s mistakes, forgiveness, and redemption and even those that wanted to hold onto unforgiveness eventually gave in because after all, it only hurts oneself in the end. It is not a book for everyone, but I enjoyed the two main characters and their close relationship and the amazing things they did for each other and others.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett was well written and she did a great job with developing the characters. Personally, it was a bit slow for me until Part 3. It was a story of a brother and sister who grew up in a huge house. The sister was more of a mother figure since the mother left when the son was too young to really remember her. The book takes you through their life story with the house and how their stepmother pulled the rug out from under them. This event colors the rest of their lives with the big theme from this book being forgiveness.
It was very slow. I didn’t like the random time jumps
A good read
Basically boring
Quiet story about the different bonds love creates, how flimsy they sometimes seem, but how strong they actually are.
Ann Patchett never tells a trite story. The choice of narrator is somewhat odd, but the story is engaging and compelling.
I do love a book with a big old house at the heart of the drama and The Dutch House does not disappoint. Ann Patchett is one of the greats and her portrait of the two siblings here is not to be missed. Some of the other characters didn’t work quite so well for me, but this is a very enjoyable read.
I listened to the audiobook of this, narrated by Tom Hanks. The story was incredibly touching, with the devoted relationship between a troubled brother and sister.
I love books like this that let me get to know characters over a long period of time and understand the choices they make and how things that happen can have such long reaching effects. This author is insightful and a skillful storyteller and I can’t wait to read another of her books.
would love to see this as a movie!
Here’s another engrossing read from Ann Patchett about the lifelong relationship between two siblings and the house they grow up in.
The Dutch House is an oversize, hand-crafted mansion built by a wealthy Dutch couple outside Philadelphia. After their deaths the house, with all its contents, winds up in the hands of an ambitious real estate entrepreneur, his wife, and two children. It’s the relationship between these two children (Danny and Maeve) that is central in the book. Danny is the book’s narrator and his sister, six years older, becomes the central figure in his life.
While I won’t relay more details for fear of spoiling your own discovery of this wonderful story, the novel turns out to be full of rich, complex and deeply real relationships. It explores the ways well-meaning partners unintentionally overlook and hurt their mates. The profound, lifelong bond between parent and child. The ways blended families do and do not work out. And how unresolved childhood issues can haunt adult lives. They are stories about commitment and love, anger and revenge, deep loyalty, and the unreliable nature of memory.
The characters are richly drawn and multi-layered and it’s a pleasure to accompany them on their individual voyages of self-discovery. Highly recommended.