Name: Teresa Bonifácio's review of The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Item: The Dutch House
Rating: 5
Author: Teresa Bonifácio

Ann Patchett

An unforgettably powerful new novel of the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go - from the Number One New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and Bel Canto'The book of the autumn. The American author of Commonwealth (brilliant) and Bel Canto (even better) releases perhaps her finest novel yet' - Sunday Times 'The buzz around The Dutch House is totally justified. Her best yet, which is saying something' - John Boyne"'Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?' I asked my sister. We were sitting in her car, parked in front of the Dutch House in the broad daylight of early summer."Danny Conroy grows up in the Dutch House, a lavish mansion. Though his father is distant and his mother is absent, Danny has his beloved sister Maeve: Maeve, with her wall of black hair, her wit, her brilliance. Life is coherent, played out under the watchful eyes of the house's former owners in the frames of their oil paintings.Then one day their father brings Andrea home. Though they cannot know it, her arrival to the Dutch House sows the seed of the defining loss of Danny and Maeve's lives. The siblings are drawn back time and again to the place they can never enter, knocking in vain on the locked door of the past. For behind the mystery of their own exile is that of their mother's: an absence more powerful than any presence they have known.Told with Ann Patchett's inimitable blend of humour, rage and heartbreak, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale and story of a paradise lost; of the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetize and repel us for our whole lives.

A Novel

The Dutch House

Ann Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder, returns with 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. "'Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?' I asked my sister. We were sitting in her car, parked in front of the Dutch House in the broad daylight of early summer." 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. 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. Filled with suspense, you may read it quickly to find out what happens, but what happens to Danny and Maeve will stay with you for a very long time.

clara

His grief was a river as deep and as wide as my own.

We stood there in the grass, watching the young people fluttering in and out of the windows - moths to the light.

as if the pull to the past was an inherited condition.

There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you'd been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you're suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself. It was an almost unbearably vivid present I found myself in

"Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?"

(…) "I see the past as it actually was," Maeve said. She was looking at the trees.

"But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we're not seeing it as the people we were, we're seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered."

daphne

There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you'd been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you're suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself. 

ella

“I always imagined the house would die without us. I don't know, I thought it would crumple up. Do houses ever die of grief?"

“Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?” 

“I see the past as it actually was,” Maeve said. She was looking at the trees.

“But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we're not seeing it as the people we were, we're seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered.”

New 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 2019 Named one of the Best Books of the Year by 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.

(Bre)anne✨

The story of my sister was the only one I was ever meant to tell, but there are still a few things left to say.

Apurva  Kaul 

Teresa Bonifácio

love books like this. there were definitely a few places where i had to keep reading even though i was a bit uninterested, but overall great. end was a little abrupt but i thoroughly enjoyed it!

Nina

Jules 

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize New 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 2019 Named one of the Best Books of the Year by 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.

Annabella

The Dutch House is an enthralling, fairytale-esque exploration of siblinghood and grief. Patchett combines masterful writing with a rare capture of the human condition, creating a classic that is hypnotic and intimately truthful. 

Not sure how to rate this because it was good, it was just not the kind of book I would enjoy and it sort of bored me.

** spoiler alert **
           Even though it's weird that Danny does everything Maeve asks of him, I understand. She is the only person he has. I liked the way this book ultimately shows us that you don't have to forgive to accept. Danny ended up having a relationship with his mother. He ended up being able to be with Andrea again.
It cost me when Maeve died. Like Andy, I thought it was unfair, but Sandy was right in what she said.
I loved that May bought the house, took the portrait back and brought the house back to life.

Keely Calagos

2.5 ✨

Tom Hanks’ performance was delightful but the story itself wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, so following their lives felt a bit mundane, if I’m being honest. I don’t think I would have finished if I wasn’t listening on audible. 

Objectively, this novel is well done and beautifully written, but not for me.

started out interesting but once their father died, the trajectory of the plot was completely lost and two main characters who are paper-thin cannot hold the story for me for another couple hundred pages no matter how hard i try (167/337)

rin 🐇

Cassie B

Over a year later, it's finally done! Brilliant, brilliant book. Tom Hanks ADDS to it. And, of course, I saw sobbing at the end. Long live Maeve (in my heart) <3 

TW to be added later

Over a year later, it's finally done! Brilliant, brilliant book. Tom Hanks ADDS to it. And, of course, I saw sobbing at the end. Long live Maeve (in my heart) <3 

Barbara Williford

I am very stingy with my 5 star reviews and this book deserved each and every one of them! Well written and well narrated.

An obscenely extravagant, historic house, which one sat on large acreage, has been bought by a young family. This story is a coming of age story of the family who now lives in the Dutch House. The family endures loss, trials, hardships, separation and finally forgiveness and a sense of coming home. Three generations experience The Dutch House with different emotions and memories. It is captivating and Tom Hanks brings it home as narrator.

Lamia Hajani

This novel has a very strong sense of place which I enjoyed. The house in this book is a character within itself. However I struggle with the unlikable nature of the narrator. The book left me wanting more.

Lisa Lindquist 

"Ann Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder, returns with 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"--

Bilge Ince

If you’re in a period full of chaos and you feel so tired and need a cozy story this is your book. Maeve and Danny are the two children in an old mansion that called as The Dutch House. Everything is disturbingly perfect in this house which It can’t be forever. This is both their story and the house as well.
I hooked in a minute I started to read the book. I don’t know if it’s the story or Tom Hanks that I also listened while I was reading. Beside all I found many similarities between the siblings and the life of me and my brother. I don’t know whether this or that, I loved the book.

I am very stingy with my 5 star reviews and this book deserved each and every one of them!  Well written and well narrated.

An obscenely extravagant, historic house, which one sat on large acreage, has been bought by a young family.  This story is a coming of age story of the family who now lives in the Dutch House.  The family endures loss, trials, hardships, separation and finally forgiveness and a sense of coming home.  Three generations experience The Dutch House with different emotions and memories.  It is captivating and Tom Hanks brings it home as narrator.

I am very stingy with my 5 star reviews and this book deserved each and every one of them!  Well written and well narrated.

An obscenely extravagant, historic house, which one sat on large acreage, has been bought by a young family.  This story is a coming of age story of the family who now lives in the Dutch House.  The family endures loss, trials, hardships, separation and finally forgiveness and a sense of coming home.  Three generations experience The Dutch House with different emotions and memories.  It is captivating and Tom Hanks brings it home as narrator.



Ali Angco

Abby Kelsall 

Prashanth Srivatsa

Addictive, poignant and memorable. A family saga spanning decades that gave me one of the best sibling stories I have ever read.

Definitely a fascinating read. I usually don’t like books that span whole lifetimes, but this felt pretty seamless. 

Elisabeth Thoresen

Stefanie  Uwah

This was a somewhat simple family drama and I actually appreciated there not being so much crammed into the story. It was such a fluid story in that the transitions from present to past were seamless. The writing was also very good.

I should mention here that I listened to the audiobook and I think that drastically altered my experience for the better. Tom Hanks was amazing!! However, there were countless times that I felt like if I were reading this book for myself, I would have DNF-ed. The simplicity of the story mixed with the immaturity of Danny, our narrator, was unpleasant at times. He was very narrow minded and a bit arrogant. (view spoiler)[ Was it just me or was anyone else side-eyeing him for his causal gentrification of Brooklyn? (hide spoiler)]

I think I would have loved this story if Maeve had been the narrator. But it makes sense once we realize that (view spoiler)[ Danny was ultimately telling the story of his sister after she passed.  (hide spoiler)] I didn't really like the way the story dealt with the topic of pain and forgiveness.(view spoiler)[Readers/listeners did not get to experience the stages of forgiveness that would help us understand why Danny or Maeve forgave their mother. The explanation from Maeve was always "she had to help people so that's why she left the family." But when their mother comes back into their life, she never has to justify her actions. She doesn't even ask for forgiveness. And after Maeve's death, Danny just comes to terms with everything and decides to let go of his anger. It just wasn't satisfying for me.  (hide spoiler)] There's just something in me that wanted more.

Overall, I give the story itself 3 stars and the entire audiobook experience with Tom Hanks 4 stars.

Cheri McElroy

This story will haunt me. It’s about selfishness disguised as generosity and unforgiveness brought on my loss and brokenness and the desire for revenge. It’s about people who are imperfect and often unkind but don’t see that plank in their eye because they’re busy looking at the speck in another’s. It’s about complicated family relationships, and is thus totally relatable. It reminds me to let things go before it’s too late.

Wouter ter Keurs

Lauren Wightman

I think if I had read this in a different mood I would have given it 5 stars. As it was I worked my was through it in spurts, though I did enjoy it a lot.

Teresa Bonifácio &
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett