I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of this book from Bloomsbury, as Ann Patchett is one of my favourite authors. While reading it, I couldn't help but compare it with her previous novel, Commonwealth, which I liked but didn't love. This one, I loved. Both are strongly character-driven stories about family, but somehow The Dutch House also has more plot and was therefore more satisfying as I turned the final page.

Told in the first person, from the point of view of Daniel Conroy, this is the story of 3 generations of the Conroys and their relationship to the Dutch House in Elkins Park. The house is such an integral part of the story, it's like a family member in its own right. Built by cigarette-distribution magnates, the VanHoebeeks, the house has become ridiculously opulent in what became suburban Philadelphia, but was probably considered more tasteful or understated as part of the vast Elkins Park countryside of the pre-war era in which it was built. When the last of the VanHoebeeks died, Cyril Conroy was able to buy it lock, stock and barrel, for a good price.

The house came fully furnished and decorated with all the VanHoebeeks possessions including clothes, ornaments and paintings. The life-size twin portraits of Mr and Mrs VanHoebeek continued to oversee the life of the house long after they were gone, from their position in the drawing room. Because the house also came with one of their former staff, Fiona, the stories of the Dutch family stayed with the house and it was almost as though the VanHoebeeks became an older, more remote generation of the Conroy family.

However, the purchase of the Dutch House was the beginning of the end of Cyril's marriage to Elna (Danny's mother), and therefore an early catalyst to his unhappy second marriage, to the much younger Andrea Smith. Both of these events necessarily shaped the close relationship between Danny and his older sister Maeve, as their father became more distant.

Although the story jumps back and forth from when Danny was about 4 years old, to his late 40s or early 50s, Patchett skilfully brings the reader along and there is no danger of getting lost. There is a very recognisable arc that proceeds in a traditional linear direction over the top of the detours and meanderings. Towards the end, some threads of the story even come full circle and for me this was particularly satisfying.

Danny's narration has a friendly, almost confiding tone that really draws you in and makes you care about his family. He admits to being a funny (i.e. odd), unobservant kid and this serves to highlight the exceptional traits of his beloved sister. Due to their closeness we also get to know Maeve pretty well, or perhaps I should qualify that and say we know her family life pretty well. We don't know her personal life, although there are hints and we can speculate about what's going on there. But when I think about my own brother and me - with a similar age gap - I think that's realistic!

Despite being banished from the Dutch House while Danny was still at high school, the house continues to be a magnet for Danny and Maeve long into their adult lives until they consciously decide to give it up. And then after a major disruption in the family, the Dutch House once again takes centre stage. I thought this was the perfect ending, providing the opportunity to get over so many regrets for so many characters.

I could go on - there is so, so much more. Suffice to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the past few days, being immersed in the richly detailed, warm world of the Conroys and their Dutch House.

I loved this so much. I was torn between not be able to put it down, but wanting to draw out the pleasure in reading such a finely written book. Ann Patchett's books are treats to look forward to and savour, and 'The Dutch House' is one of her best.

Patchett's turn of phrase beautifully describes the relationships between the cast of characters. The father and his new wife's marriage is deftly summarised in 'He could give her her way now or he could wait and give her her way later, but either way, she was going to get what she wanted'.

This wonderful tale breaks, warms and breaks your heart over and over again.

Brilliant writing and atmosphere, with some outstanding observations and characterisation.

It's only a four star rather than a five because I felt it needed more structure and forward momentum, particularly in the second half. I also didn't feel that Elna's departure was ever fully or satisfyingly explained, which given that it was the driving force of the book, felt like a lack.

Ann Patchett’s novels are all about the characters and The Dutch House is no exception. I loved the relationship between Maeve and Danny. the storyline is both shocking but sensitive.

A house can be so much more than just bricks and mortar. It can define and shape those who live in it. Such a house is The Dutch House. Built by a successful Dutch tobacco importer it uniquely designed, full of amazing décor and furniture, and filled with light by its huge windows. Taken over lock, stock and barrel by the bank during the recession it is purchased, for a bargain price, by Danny and Maeve's father - a self made property developer. From the day he presents his purchase, as a surprise, to his wife as their new home, the Dutch house upsets the family balance.
Years later Maeve and Danny find themselves with a new stepmother, Andrea. Little can they know just what an impact Andrea shall have on their lives but, with two children of her own, she quickly makes her hostility to Maeve and Danny very clear. When Maeve goes to college and moves into a flat she takes on the role of both mother and protector to Danny. And so when their father suddenly dies, and Andrea insists he leave, Danny moves in with Maeve. Andrea stays on in the Dutch House and effectively disinherits them. From here on we follow the careers and lives of Maeve and Danny and how, throughout those lives, they are repeatedly drawn back to the Dutch house. They sit outside in their car and go over their time there, forever trying to suss out how matters turned out as they did. Anne Patchett draws the reader so deeply into this tale and the characters, that the twists and turns are all totally believable. But Dutch House still has surprises up its sleeve and the people who end up living there together could never have been predicted at the outset of this story . Nor could the reader have guessed at their relationship. It is both heart-breaking and uplifting. A beautifully crafted story written with coherence and fluency. If you enjoy family sagas and surprises this is a novel you have to read.

A beautiful, profound, deeply moving story of love in all it's forms. Danny is the younger brother of Maeve who takes over a nurturing role of him when their Mother leaves the family home, the Dutch House. when he is very small and she is only ten. The Dutch House is central to the story, a wonderful place full of history and wonderful things but a house that has a very different effect on different people. But most of all the story is about love, where loyalties lie and what love is acceptable. It isn't often that a relationship between brother and sister is so richly told and I found the use of Danny as the narrator really interesting. Apart from his father, all the strong characters are women and it is interesting to see how Danny weaves through these relationships. Every word is measured and the tale is beautifully told, full of warmth, heart-ache and life. I loved it, cried at the end unexpectedly, missed it when it ended.

For me, the overwhelming themes of this novel are self-determination (for Danny and Maeve, and especially where Elna is concerned though I hesitate to elaborate for fear of spoiling the story for others) and the bond between siblings that both sustains and threatens to harm them both. Deprived at a young age of the privilege and luxury they were born into, Danny and his sister Maeve are forced to fend for themselves, eventually moving to New York but retaining strong ties to Philadelphia and the looming presence of their childhood home, the Dutch House. Maeve in particular who, a decade older than Danny, can remember their earlier lives, their father and their absent mother more clearly, obsesses for decades over the past and the calamity that exiled them. She decides her role in life is to care for Danny, pushing him in the direction she thinks best for them both and putting aside ambition for herself. Their relationship is central to them both. Danny goes along with her plans but yearns for a different life. We follow their paths over many years to a superbly poignant conclusion.

I am a huge fan of Ann Patchett’s writing. All the books I’ve read from her extensive back catalogue have been very different, though this one bears most resemblance to ‘Commonwealth’. Characters are key, especially here. Maeve is a terrific creation - brave, funny and utterly determined, if blinkered for most of the novel. Danny’s growing up is a journey I enjoyed very much. A couple of examples:

‘That night in my sister’s bed I stared at the ceiling and felt the true loss of our father. Not his money or his house, but the man I sat next to in the car. He had protected me from the world so completely that I had no idea what the world was capable of. I had never thought about him as a child. I had never asked him about the war. I had only seen him as my father, and as my father I had judged him.’

‘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.’

A great story that just flowed from the page, so beautifully written, and much food for thought here. I’ve no hesitation recommending it.

Ann Patchett at her best! I loved this book, it was great. I'm a fan of the author, and I'm happy to say this book is stunning inside out.
She's the queen of contemporary family dramas, and the Dutch House didn't disappoint. The design and the title of the book is even brilliant. You see the girl on cover and think 'who is she?, is she the one in the Dutch house? Is she Dutch, is it set in Netherlands?' All these questions spark, not even opening the first page of the book.
The story was so well woven, mysterious, dramatic and engaging. Of course it revolves around a family, Patchett's signature. There's also a house and all the events are linked to this house. We follow Danny, who grows up in The Dutch House with his sister Mauve. His father is a rich man and he bought this magnificent house as a gift to his wife. But, where is the wife and the mother? So, we start to learn more about the house and this family.
These 2 siblings are excellently created that all we can do it to take our hats off to Patchett. They were quite different and their relationship was really interesting to follow. Eventually, they were left to each other without a mother, and they slowly discover what's the secret and history of the house. The end, OMG, that end was excellent. Until there, I was enjoying it massively and whatever end Ann Patchett produced was absolutely fine. But, she sealed the deal with a jaw dropping one.

This was a five star addition to Patchett's excellent books. I adored it sentence by sentence. Her talent is admirable. All these metaphors, between the line meanings, the story & characters coming together slowly were amazing parts of this book. Definitely one you'd re-read.

Definitely, strongly recommended!

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this amazing opportunity to read the book early. Opinions are my own.

Ann Patchett is an old-school storyteller. I usually finish her books in a state of wonder (pun intended for the Patchett fans!) and try to imagine her elevator pitch: 'It's a book about a house. Yeah just a house, you know, and the people who lived there.' The premise is always deceptively simple, no topical themes, no gritty hooks, just a story about quiet, powerful, ineffable love. I am an older sister and if he was a reader, I could think of no greater gift than to have my brother read this book. How often are the love stories of brothers and sisters told? This one broke my heart. I felt such empathy for all the characters, even the ones I hated for much of the book and that's always a bonus as my biggest criticism of any novel, no matter how eloquent, is when I can't make myself care about the people in it. For me, The Dutch House is far from my imagined elevator pitch - the house is nothing, the people, everything,