The Dutch House
A Novel
Book - 2019
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Opinion
From Library Staff
From Library Staff
If you like: family sagas. One of Literary Hub's Ultimate Best Books of 2019. For siblings Danny and Maeve, the Dutch house is much more than a structure. It is the bones of their family, to which they are connected forever, long after they are flung out of it. Recommended by LibraryReads for fa... Read More »
From the critics
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Quotes
Add a Quote"Do you think it's possible to ever see the past as it actually was?" ...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"
“Habit is a funny thing. You might think you understand it, but you can never exactly see what it looks like when you’re doing it.” - p.255
"Disappointment comes from expectation, and in those days I had no expectation that Andrea would get anything less than what she wanted.” - pp. 58-59
“Do you think it’s possible to ever see the past as it actually was?” I asked my sister…
“I see the past as it actually was, “ Maeve said….
“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.” - p. 45
ArapahoeStaff26
Nov 03, 2019
'Home is so sad...It stays as it was left, shaped to the comfort of the last to go as if to win them back. Instead, bereft of anyone to please, it withers so, having no heart to put aside the theft. And turn again to what it started as, a joyous shot at how things ought to be, long fallen wide. You can see how it was: look at the pictures and the cutlery. The music in the piano stool. That vase.' Larkin
ArapahoeStaff26
Nov 03, 2019
'You think he was sleeping with Fluffy?' I asked her... The news of this affair came to me as most information did: many years after the fact, in a car parked outside the Dutch house with my sister.
Comment
Add a CommentExcellent plot and character development. Writing craft is utilitarian. The theme of the lost mother reminds me of Maeve Binchy's Glass Lake.
Book Club Feb/21.
I truly enjoyed this audiobook narrated by Tom Hanks. Highly recommend!
I think the jacket is even more striking than the story. It is a quirky story with interesting characters/relationships.
A somewhat interesting read...to read in-between something with a more thoughtful plot or non-fiction that interests the reader.. Good research on medical details and architecture. I would say good Summer reading...but not a memorable one.
Did not care for this book, really no plot an is a boring read!
Refers to the architecture. Good read.
I loved this book. Long after I have finished it, I still think of it and the characters. The house itself acts as a character in the book. The house was clearly not a typical house, and to the kids, it was more than just a house: it represented their childhood and what they had lost--not just materially speaking, but the loss of their mother and their father and then finally the house itself where they were all last a family together. The house as the primary setting for the story really sets the mood and tone of the book, as you imagine this large, imposing house that is not warm, and requires a staff to operate, yet is largly empty of love and life. The story was told in a calm and quiet way with a gentle cadence. While it is a sad story for the two siblings, ultimately, what you walk away with is the sense of the love they shared for each other well into their adult lives, which was beautiful. The kids grow to represent home to one another, regardless of any house they are occupying or not occupying. It was a beautifully written book-- I could not put it down.
Totally disappointed in this book. Story is very slow moving... Will probably not read another Ann Patchett book.
Maria recommended