28 December, 2020

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - [Book Review]

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Book Details:


Title : The Dutch House

Author: Ann Patchett

Genre: Women Fiction, Literary Fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (September 24, 2019)

Print Length : 302 pages

Source: An e-copy from the local library




Blurb:


Lose yourself in the story of a lifetime – the unforgettable Sunday Times bestseller
'Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature' Guardian
Longlisted for the Women's Prize 2020


A STORY OF TWO SIBLINGS, THEIR CHILDHOOD HOME, AND A PAST THAT THEY CAN'T LET GO.


Like swallows, like salmon, we were the helpless captives of our migratory patterns. We pretended that what we had lost was the house, not our mother, not our father. We pretended that what we had lost had been taken from us by the person who still lived inside.


'The best book I've read in years' Rosamund Lupton
'Her finest novel yet' Sunday Times
'The buzz around The Dutch House is totally justified. Her best yet, which is saying something' John Boyne
'A masterpiece' Cathy Rentzenbrink
'Bliss' Nigella Lawson

Purchase Link:


My Review:


About relationships and letting them go

I loved the Dutch house for the characters and emotions. The story runs around the Dutch house where May and Danny spend their childhood. Even though they hate the house when their stepmother throws them out, with the return of their own mother, they learn to let things go and re-cherish their moments again from the Dutch house.

 It is medium-paced fiction with more weight on emotions than twists in the story. The brother-sister love is depicted very well. The story covers the life of Danny and May. It also covers the story of their parents and the lives of their nanny and caretakers. 

The major message at the end is to let things go, take their own course, leave grudges, forgive, and live for others. The last phase of the story is important with an interesting turn of events. I enjoyed reading these kinds of stories that are nearer to real lives highlighting the emotions and feelings of people.

My Rating : 5/5


About the Author:

Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is the novelist Jeanne Ray.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was six, where she continues to live. Patchett said she loves her home in Nashville with her doctor husband and dog. If asked if she could go any place, that place would always be home. "Home is ...the stable window that opens out into the imagination."

Patchett attended high school at St. Bernard Academy, a private, non-parochial Catholic school for girls run by the Sisters of Mercy. Following graduation, she attended Sarah Lawrence College and took fiction writing classes with Allan Gurganus, Russell Banks, and Grace Paley. She later attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where she met longtime friend Elizabeth McCracken. It was also there that she wrote her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars.

In 2010, when she found that her hometown of Nashville no longer had a good book store, she co-founded Parnassus Books with Karen Hayes; the store opened in November 2011. In 2012, Patchett was on the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.

Until next time,



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