The Dutch House audiobook

So close to be a masterpiece, a dysfunctional family story starts in this humongous, grandiose mansion, where ex inhabitants had died and left their belongings including their portraits hanging on the walls and it ends there as we move back and forth between the timelines to read the story narrated by Danny, second child of the family. But please go and order an audiobook because TOM HANKS is fantastic, impeccable, meticulous narrator. (Yes, he is our Danny boy). So as a result paperback version: 4 stars Audiobook: 5 stars Let’s rounded 4.5 up to 5 celebration of master story telling stars!I started to read the book and I was about to give four stars ! Please, don’t get me wrong, I love the writing and those vivid characters, I was about to give million slaps to one of them: Yes, EVIL STEPMOM ANDREA, I’m talking about you! But slow pace and too many jumping between time lines a little exhausted me. But as soon as I learned Tom Hanks is on the board, I stopped reading and I started listening to the book with a huge smile on my face. Danny and Maeve will always stay on my mind and heart as amazing siblings. Their mother abandoned them. (Actually she was another version of Mother Theresa and she rejected to live in a mansion when too many poor people suffer out there so she left the place. She still loved her husband and she didn’t intend to leave her children. Her belief as social responsibilities always come first even it means to neglect her own family is irritated me so much! I’m not quite fan of this character. But thanks God, we have evil stepmother to hate more!) And their father passed away when he was only 53. They both lost their parents at young age but what they didn’t know they would be also homeless with great scheme her stepmother dearest had planned details with her lawyer. She got the control of the business of their father and she got the Dutch House to live with her two daughters. So she kicked her step kids out. She even tried to prevent Danny take money from trust fund for his education because Danny chose an expensive school and her own daughters couldn’t get the highest education they need, if all the money would spend for Danny’s needs. (At least her attempts were stopped by their father’s lawyer this time. I think Andrea deserved a special place in hell but in my opinion, hell would be like a spa treatment for her!) So all the losses they suffered, keep united this brother and sister against the entire world. They became each other’s priorities and supported each other for every big life decisions. (Maeve helped him to connect with his future wife even they didn’t get along for a long time and resented each other!) They grew up, but they resumed going to the Dutch House and stopped their cars in front of the place, waited to see any activity around or inside and they left. THAT BECAME THEIR ROUTINE FOR YEARS like visiting an old relative they check randomly to make sure she’ still alive!Years passed, they got old. They resumed going back there…Till one day their mother returned back and requested them to drive her to the house and finally she bangs on the door to meet with Andrea. That is the beginning of some endings! The house was like a living and functioning organism marked the milestones of the sibling’s lives and changed them forever. Past and future combined with sadness, regrets, resentments, sister and brother’s devotion, marriage, nostalgia, childhood memories, unfinished businesses, yearning for real and functional family, life decisions. As the life moved on , two siblings’ a special piece of their hearts always stayed with that house, buried there, even they thought they moved on but they couldn’t. Because house gave them hope that one day their mother could return. House made them grow up earlier. House made them connect with their maids, nanny ( also mistress of their father) and many childhood happy memories. Even they’ve kicked out, they have never left the place and the house never left them, too. It left a vulnerable scar on their mind and soul. It always stayed with them till the end of their lives.Amazing story-telling, remarkable characterization and best narration!bloginstagramfacebooktwitter

This was an absorbing read even though the narrator was infuriating, self-absorbed, oblivious, selfish, and annoying. It follows two siblings, Danny and Maeve, and their childhood home, The Dutch House, across decades with a mother who disappeared, an emotionally distant father, his new wife and her daughters and, eventually, Danny’s wife and children. There is an epic feel to this novel but it is also an intimate portrait of siblings who have found home in each other when they are failed by the adults who were supposed to nurture them. Patchett is a formidable novelist. She takes such care with her storytelling. She creates an indelible sense of place and the narrative does some interesting things with chronology.

4.5 starsSometimes in a novel, a place is such a strong and integral part of the story that it deserves as much attention as if it were a character. The house in this novel exerts so much influence over the lives of the characters, sometimes more so than the other people in their lives. The house, with its big windows and ornate design is a symbol of success for Cyril Conroy, the self made real estate developer. To his wife Elna, it is everything that is wrong with the world, when so many others have nothing. To their children, Maeve and Danny, it is where they live. As adults, it’s much more complex; it represents everything they lost. To Conroy’s second wife Andrea, it’s a possession she has to have. Narrated by Danny, the story moves back and forth from their childhood over decades, a family saga of sorts, but the Conroy family for most of the novel is just the two of them, Danny and Maeve. This is in so many ways about the past, the past they can’t let go of, the past that shapes who they become as adults. “Do you think it’s possible to ever see the past as it actually was?” Danny asks his sister Maeve. “ I see the past as it actually was,” Maeve said. Danny responds “ But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know, 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.” ** It’s also about sibling love and sacrifice as the brilliant Maeve gives up so much of her life to care for Danny, to make sure he is okay. I was so emotionally connected to them and I loved their relationship. It was at times heartbreaking to see how deep seated these wounds of the past are for both of them .The plot, which captured me from the beginning is one the reader should discover for themselves, so no spoilers here. The bottom line is that I loved pretty much everything about the book - the writing, the characters, the story. I found it nearly perfect and it is 4.5 stars because of something in the end that I found hard to reconcile. I keep a list of favorite writers and Ann Patchett has been on that list for quite a while now. I’ve read every novel she’s published. Her characters always feel fully developed and making an emotional connection is easy because she allows us to know them. Definitely recommended! I read this with Diane and Esil as one of our ongoing buddy reads and as always appreciate their thoughts.**Quotes are from the advanced copy.I received an advanced copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.

Just punch me right in the heart next time, Patchett. It'd be faster.See my full review here: https://youtu.be/xjW9XCANxPU

Hang on, I swear I’m about to write this review, but first I need to call up every real estate agent in the greater Philadelphia area and inquire about purchasing the Dutch House.Okay, so yes, the Dutch House is fictional.Plan B: I will make millions and millions of dollars and then become best friends with Ann Patchett and she and I will team up as co-architects to construct a real life version, and both of us will ignore the fact that we have no architecture experience and that I haven’t taken an actual math class in about 6 years (long story) and also that the Dutch House as a literary symbol brings only suffering and obsession.I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I’m an English major, so according to my calculations, making millions of dollars will take me...476 years.We’ve got time.Until then, I will think about this book. To keep me motivated and inspired.I will think about how it is beautifully written, and so real and emotive and human, and how I FELT everything that happened in this book. How it all felt real and painful and true.I will think about how I love Maeve, and I love Danny, and I love May and Kevin and Celeste, and I love Sandy and Jocelyn, and how I even love Norma and Bright.Mostly, I will think about the Dutch House, and the borderline grotesque beauty of the dining room, and the big portraits in the living room, and the windowseat in the best bedroom, and the seating area at the top of the stairs, and the warm kitchen, and the cold high-up beds.And those 476 years will just fly by.Bottom line: Immediately after finishing this book, I resolved to read everything by Ann Patchett.----------------pre-reviewactually i grew up in the Dutch House and the characters from this book are my family and this is the story of my life.review to come / 4.5 stars----------------tbr reviewi promise eventually i'll move on from gazing lovingly at this cover and actually open this book

What a freaking masterpiece this is!!Let's begin with prior to reading this book, I was impartial on books by Ann Patchett. I previously had only read Commonwealth and liked it, but it wasn't something I would climb to the top of a mountain and yell about. This book is.I'm not going to get into the summary because I went in as blind as I could (I requested an ARC on NG and EW purely on the fact that it was Ann Patchett and I LOVED the cover) and I think that benefited me. I had no expectations whatsoever. Within the first few pages I was hooked. Ms. Patchett's beautiful writing had my jaw on the floor. I am in awe of her talent and it played out so well in my mind that I was in that house with them. I was sitting next to them in the car. I was the fly on the wall. I was there.If you like books that make you feel a spectrum of emotions with a side of laughter for a few quirky characters - than this book is absolutely a MUST READ. I experienced being vehemently angry, to laughing out loud to such utter sadness...If this isn't made into a series on TV or a movie, I don't know what is wrong with people. The characters in this story (my favorite is Maeve hands down) are so complex and relatable and REAL. You hate them, you forgive them, you desperately love them. I cannot say enough good things about it. I love books that make me feel something and this one did, a million times over. Thank you to Edelweiss, Harpercollins and Ann Patchett for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.Review Date: 09/27/19Publication Date: 09/24/19

Awfully close to 5 stars!The Dutch House is full of the stuff I love in fiction. It’s really well written, has great characters, is original and feels like a big meaty story I could get lost in. Danny is the narrator. He grew up in the grandiose Dutch House with his sister, Maeve, and his father. What happens to his mother is a mystery that unravels over time. But the fallout from her disappearance is a very strong bond between Danny and Maeve, and a cascade of emotional and other consequences for everyone. At the centre of the novel is the house — loved and reviled depending on the character. In the end, there is a symmetry to the story that is emotionally wrought and complex. This is not an easy story with straightforward characters. But it’s very readable. I read this one as a buddy read with Angela and Diane, and it definitely works well as a buddy read because there’s much to discuss — especially the end. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.