A huge fan of Ann Patchett and The Dutch House didn't disappoint. I particularly enjoyed the unique (almost emotionless) tone of the writing. Excellent and brave construct Would recommend. .

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A book I picked up on a total whim, and then raced through in days. This tells the story of Danny Conroy, whose father bought the Dutch House before he was born, where he grows up with his beloved older sister Maeve. The novel moves back and forth in time, from the siblings as adults reminiscing and back into their days growing up in a house with a working father, absent mother and servants who love them. The Dutch House itself is an architectural oddity, with enormous glass windows and furnished with the lavish belongings of the family who built it.

Over five decades, we see the ways Danny and Maeve's lives unfold, always underpinned by their relationship to the house and its mysteries. This is a novel of family, of love and betrayal and the complicated nature of all those things. It's about legacy and inheritance, about the strangeness of growing older and seeing the world change around you while you feel like you are staying the same.

I loved the gentle unwinding of this story, and while I don't necessarily admire Danny I thought he was a brilliant narrator. A wonderful story of sibling love.

Revenge is a dish probably best not served at all

The Dutch House features a seriously dysfunctional family, the Conroys, and is a kind of rags to riches to rags to riches story over 3 generations. Its other theme could be seen as a kind of Cinderella tale, wicked stepmother, not at all ugly stepsisters, rather sweet, young ones, and the displaced daughter who could not let go of her desire to punish the stepmother.

The story is told through the eyes of Danny Crawford, from a young boy, to his late middle age

Danny and his older sister, Maeve, live with their somewhat hurting father in a grand house, together with a couple of sisters, Jocelyn and Sandy, housekeeper and cook. Maeve’s mother, never spoken of, but, apparently, according to Sandy, some kind of saint, left her husband and children to go to India. Danny was too young to remember her, but Maever, 10 at the time, never stopped missing her mother.

When Cyril Conroy, Maeve and Danny’s property renovating, property developer father, brings home a new wife, with children from an earlier marriage in tow, all lives are upended. Cyril realises his second marriage is another mistake,

Unforgivingness, not to mention wanting to get one’s own back on those who have slighted or hurt one, jealousy, resentment, but also loyalty (misplaced or otherwise) love and devotion are all ingredients in the complex relationships in this novel.

Lives lived small, as well as the possibilities for transcending the long littleness of life, unfold.

Patchett writes quietly, trusting her readers to fill in the depth of emotion inside her characters, without going Gothic or overdone

And, curiously, despite the feeling that lives have been stultified, there is also ‘function’ as well as dysfunction, with ‘damaged’ people also able to raise children who are more whole.

I know a lot of people who enjoyed this - sadly, it was not one for me and I quickly and sadly DNFd it. That was such a shame as I thought the premise was very interesting, but I did not enjoy it very much!

I was blown away by this book. Quietly brilliant, the characters were utterly human, and really got under my skin. I thought the writing was stunning, and the overall depiction of events steadily built as the book went on – I was gripped. Highly recommended.

Ann Patchett's beautiful, lyrical prose never disappoints. Packed with interesting characters, The Dutch House is engrossing and devastating in equal measure.

’m surprised by the high marks and reviews for this novel , nothing happens !! Admittedly it is easy to read and the pages flow and the writing is superb but the passive main character - Danny , Started to irritate me , should he shouldn’t he ..... blah blah blah , not for me, perhaps I should listen to the audio book narrated by the brilliant Tom Hank’s instead . Can’t deny the writing is excellent but I personal prefer a book that packs and punch , this is more of a gentle character lead read.

A modern retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, except in this version there’s not a house in the woods, but a mansion in the Philadelphia suburbs. More than that, this is a love story between a brother and a sister. It showcases the sacrifices the sister makes to help her brother become successful, and how the bond they have rises above the evil machinations of their stepmother. Beautifully written. I have given this book to many friends and family and implored them to read it.

I love this and Ann Patchett's books so much I've had to buy a physical copy because this baby will be revisited. Thank you for another wonderful book.

Ann Patchett's writing really pulled me in.
Danny and Maeve live with their father in the dutch House, in Pennsylvania. Narrated by Danny, he captures his relationship with his sister, and how both their lives change so much when their father brings home Andrea. Slowly but surely, Andrea pushes the siblings aside, and then ultimately out of the house when thier father passes away.
Both subtle and complex, this is a narrative that will draw you in.

A sweeping narrative of a family living in the Dutch House - so called because of the former owners, who came from the Netherlands and decorated its interior in the Dutch style. Danny, the protagonist, grew up there with his family. The story is really about him and his older sister Maeve, a story of their strong love and connection that grew through the trials they experienced.

One I wish I’d read with my bookclub as there would some interesting themes/characters to discuss.

Four and a half stars.

I ended up buying a Hardback copy and it is beautiful! A brilliant tale of the true meaning of home, one of my favourite novels I’ve read this year!

I can't recommend this book enough! It's about a family, spanning five decades of love, betrayal, confusion, duty and so much more. The style of writing is beautiful, it's so descriptive and has such well observed turns of phrases, on every page! I wanted to sit down and just keep reading this book, and didn't want it to end. It has a lovely warmth to it. That's the only way I can describe it. Wonderful.

This book is incredible. The author does an amazing job of exploring their characters lives and their obligations and wants. I loved every page and was fully immersed in the book from start to finish.

This is the first time I've read Ann Patchett since reading State of Wonder over a decade ago, so I'd sort of forgotten what to expect from her as a writer. I have seen mixed reviews of The Dutch House, with expectations being sky high and not always being met. Being a lover of family sagas that span many years and are filled with interesting characters, this ticked a lot of boxes for me. I think I'm still looking for something to fill The Cazalet Chronicles hole in my heart and whilst this isn't that, I still found it highly, highly enjoyable. Patchett, to me, is a more cerebral (if less human) Meg Wolitzer, and this book found me drawing comparisons to The Interestings in terms of scope of time and the intricacies of the characters drawn within. I really enjoyed it, but it hasn't made me want to dive into the rest of Patchett's back catalogue for some reason.

This is a difficult book to review, without giving you huge spoilers. It is about Danny who narrates in the first person who is telling us about his childhood in the Dutch House of the title. He and his sister are both haunted by the house and the life they could have had. Their mother left when Danny was a baby and her loss haunted his entire life. Their stepmother betrays them and they both have to grow up fast. I almost gave it five stars but it does jump around in time a bit too much for my liking.

This book really pushed me out of my comfort zone as my typical go to book is mystery/thriller - The Dutch House couldn’t be further from this. It’s a family saga and the book begins after the end of WW2. It centres around two main characters, Danny and Maeve, and the impact The Dutch House has on them. Told from the view point of Danny, we experience all the heartache and loss, abandonment and bereavement as well as some of the happier moments he goes through in this life.

This book’s major strength and selling point is the way Ann Patchett brings the characters to life. Her characterisation is amazing, and you feel the sadness, happiness and utter rage that the main characters feel. Danny and Maeve, as well as the others, literally jump off the page at you!

There are no twists and turns in this books, no great excitement but still it draws you in and infuriates you all at once. There were times when I felt so frustrated with the characters and wanted to shake them, but at other points you feel utter sadness at the heartache and abandonment they faced. Whilst it is quite slow paced at times, the writing completely takes you on a ride that you just want to keep on until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'm not sure I've read much of Ann Patchett's other work but I'll definitely be going back to check out her previous books. It's hard to say what this book is about other than just life - family, finding a job you enjoy, dealing with childhood trauma - but Patchett's writing makes the subject thoroughly engaging and I didn't want to put it down. At the centre of the novel is the Dutch House itself, a place that seems to define the lives of everyone who comes into contact with it. It's definitely a character in its own right, and I now want to travel to Pennsylvania just to find somewhere that looks like it and sit outside in my car wondering about the lives of the people within.

I decided to read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett as so many other bloggers have written glowing reviews, but I wasn’t as keen on it as others. Its about a dysfunctional family. The Conroys, Danny, Maeve and their mother, Elna and father, Cyril who lived in the Dutch House, but when Danny was just three his mother left home. Cyril remarried, and his second wife, Andrea, the mother of two young girls, was the epitome of the wicked stepmother. When their father dies he leaves the Dutch House, to Andrea. She shows her true colours and insists Danny and Maeve have to move out of their home. The house itself is described in detail. It was built by a Dutch couple called VanHoebeek in 1922 when it was in the open country just outside Philadelphia and their presence is still a strong influence on the Conroy family.

The novel moves backwards and forwards in time, from 1946 to the present, and at times I was not sure what happened when (probably my lack of concentration caused my confusion). Danny and Maeve are both obsessed with the house, to the detriment of their own lives. Their mother, Elna meanwhile had a totally different reaction to the house, never liking it and I was intrigued about her – what made her leave her children – and I was suspicious about that had happened to her and even if she was she still alive. The pain her children felt when she left to be replaced by a wicked stepmother is immense. But it is the loss of their inheritance rather than the loss of their mother, that has left them with bitterness, and anger.

I thought the book began well, but somewhere in the middle and definitely towards the end I did get rather bored with the story, so much so that I was relieved to finish it. It was not just such a good choice of book for me – or maybe it was the wrong time for me to read it.