The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Published by Harper, 2019
My rating: ⭐ ⭐
Upon the death of their father, siblings Danny and Maeve are exiled from their family home by their stepmother, Andrea. We follow them across several decades that follow, as they try and fail to move on with their lives.
Patchett’s prose is pleasant enough and easy to read, and in that respect, this at least never felt like a chore to get through. If you’re willing to pick it apart, there are probably some interesting ideas in here concerning family, privilege, inheritance, and fate. The trouble is, I never felt invested enough to bother analysing it for any depth beyond the largely vapid and stereotype-ridden narrative. The author was clearly going for a fairy tale-vibe with the setup, but the wronged siblings and wicked stepmother tropes contribute nothing when they go entirely unexplored. Indeed, I found all of the characters frustratingly one dimensional.
The handling of the female characters was particularly poor. This would bother me in any read, but a novel written by a woman that has been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction? I definitely expected better. All of the women (Maeve, Andrea, the children’s mother, the staff at The Dutch House, and Danny’s wife) all exist and operate almost exclusively in relation to Danny. Perhaps this was a deliberate attempt to criticise how oblivious men are to the sacrifices women make to ease their lives, but if so, I shouldn’t have to reach to make that conclusion; there should be enough depth in Danny’s narration to make use of such a nuanced theme. Beyond this, Danny’s wife and sister come to detest each other for no apparent reason, and this irritating trope of pitting women against each other also goes entirely unexplored.
As for Andrea, there is no light and shade to her character, nor is there any context given to suggest why she is such a cartoonishly cruel stepmother. She is placed in contrast with Danny and Maeve’s largely absent birth mother, who, despite effectively abandoning her children, is repeatedly excused within the narrative since she is a ‘good’ and ‘Saintly’ person, off doing worthwhile charity work in India. Utilising such starkly opposite archetypes felt like lazy shorthand for character development on both fronts. I also found the end of Andrea’s arc incredibly problematic. ***Slight spoiler warning for the rest of this paragraph, though I would say the novel isn’t particularly plot driven anyway.*** Andrea ends up suffering from Alzheimer’s, becoming frail, bedridden, and confused. If this was a push to incite sympathy for the character by supposedly adding another dynamic to her characterisation, it fails, as in no way does it explain or justify her prior behaviour. If, instead, it’s supposed to be some sort of comeuppance or poetic justice, it’s nothing short of tasteless.
The characters also act in absurd ways on several occasions. With all of them lacking discernible motivation, rational thought, and relatable outlooks, they never feel believable beyond the confines of the story. As such, I found it impossible to root for – or even care about – any of them.
The book is supposedly set in the aftermath of WWII, but aside from occasional historic references that actually served to jolt me out of the narrative more than anything, a sense of time and place are almost entirely absent. Again, this may have been a deliberate move to lend the story a timeless feel – a trait often inherent to fairy tales – or it could simply be another flaw in the book’s construction. Either way, I found it odd and disappointing; an evocative setting could have really elevated things somewhat, especially given the importance of the eponymous Dutch House.
In general, I found the whole thing flat and directionless, but the many rave reviews elsewhere suggest others will get on a lot better with it than I did. Patchett’s style is clearly not for me, and I won’t be in a hurry to pick up more of her work.
If you think you’ll have better luck with it, or if you’re making your way through the Women’s Prize longlist like me, you can pick up a copy of The Dutch House from Book Depository by clicking here.
WOMEN’S PRIZE 2020 REVIEWS SO FAR:
1. Girl, Woman, Other | 2. Hamnet | 3. Fleishman Is in Trouble | 4. Girl | 5. A Thousand Ships | 6. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line | 7. Dominicana | 8. The Most Fun We Ever Had | 9. Weather | 10. How We Disappeared | 11. Red at the Bone | 12. Nightingale Point
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Great review! The character arcs of Andrea and Elna were so strange, especially Elna’s – I found it unsettling that Patchett seems to be saying “Elna was ‘saintlike’ so of course her children should let her off the hook.” And, like you said, I thought that Danny’s narration was meant to highlight his obliviousness to the labor of the women in his life…but the point would have been better made with a different, more observant narrator! Glad that the prose was at least pleasant enough!
Thank you! 😊 Exactly! There was potential to make some interesting points here, which makes it even more frustrating.
Ah, I’m sorry you didn’t get along with this one at all. I can definitely see the points you are making, but I also think a lot of interpretation is up to each reader – which is probably why ratings span the whole spectrum from 1 to 5 stars. To me Danny was definitely a limited character and one of the main points was that we see all the other characters through his eyes, which is clearly not objective. Also, despite all of his limitations Danny felt utterly real to me, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. Anyway, I enjoyed reading your review, it is always interesting to read views from people who have a completely different view!
It definitely seems like this is a polarising one, so perhaps it comes down to whether or not the reader gels with Patchett’s style. I’m glad you got more from it than I did though! 😊
Great review! 100% agree with you on this one. I like how you looked into what happened to Andrea—your comment on how “it’s nothing short of tasteless” made me snort. Brutal but true, because I did think it’s meant to be poetic justice. I was also pretty disappointed at how Danny’s wife was at odds with Maeve because she needed a scapegoat for her anger at Danny, which would’ve been an interesting development had it been explored in more detail.
Thank you! 😊 Yes, exactly! The fact that there was real potential to make interesting points makes its disappointments even harder to take.
I obviously agree with all your points here – and had many of the same criticisms. Another thing that for me did not work was the comparison to Mother Teresa, who by all accounts was actually a pretty horrible person. In a way I actually wondered if maybe that was Patchett’s subtle point? Being saintly is more self-serving than anything? I remain baffled by the largely super positive reception of this book.
Yes, that’s a very good point! Like with the narration, she could have made an interesting point there, but alas, we were left wanting yet again.
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This was a middling book for me, but I liked it more than you did – I found the characterisation interesting and complex. For me, the major problem was the essential familiarity of its themes – I didn’t feel like it was bringing anything especially new to the table. Patchett is a very versatile writer, so I’d urge you to try something else by her – State of Wonder is my go-to recommendation, and VERY different from this one.
PS I also got the sense that Patchett, and the narrative, was very clearly aware of how Maeve sacrifices herself for Danny.
I totally agree that it offered nothing new to well worn themes – especially frustrating given how many tropes it employed. And yeah, I suspect that’s what she was going for with the narrative voice, but I wish she’d explored the idea with some depth. Perhaps Danny could have come to recognise his sister’s sacrifices, or it could have been a dual narrative so we saw things from her perspective as well.
Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed it more than I did! 😊
Really interesting review. I have only heard good things so far about this book and I have reserved it at the library (it has a long waiting list).
Thanks! I’ve seen increasingly mixed things but in general, it’s had very positive reception, so there’s every chance you’ll get on better with it than I did. I’ll keep an eye out for your thoughts! 😊
i read this book not too long ago and have zero recollection of the fact that it was set post-WWII lol. i mightve just forgotten since this wasnt a super memorable read for me, but wow i dont at all remember anything of that time period being mentioned, so definitely agree about the setting being not being particularly well developed 🤔
I’m glad it’s not just me! I kept thinking it was a contemporary novel and then there would be a historical reference and I’d be like, “Wait, what?” 😂
“Perhaps this was a deliberate attempt to criticise how oblivious men are to the sacrifices women make to ease their lives, but if so, I shouldn’t have to reach to make that conclusion.” YES. That was honestly my main issue with this book, and I liked pieces of it enough to think that it could have been a much more successful story if Patchett had written it from the perspective of a character who could have given the reader more concrete commentary to dig into. Sorry to see it was a slog for you as well! Great review. 🙂
Thanks! 😊 Yes, exactly! The fact it had real potential made it all the more frustrating.
I do enjoy when I read a review so very different from mine. If interested, below is my take on the novel. I hope you better better luck with your next one. https://books6259.wordpress.com/2020/01/03/the-dutch-house-by-ann-patchett/
Thanks! Yes, I remember reading your review, and I’m glad you enjoyed this one more than I did 😊
I adore Ann Patchett but haven’t read this one yet. It was so interesting to read your review (esp. of the female characters) – seems like people have lots of different opinions on this one!
It does seem to polarise people, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it since you already like Patchett’s style. 😊
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This is a great review! I think I enjoyed this one a lot more simply because I love Patchett and her writing and went into it with that bias in her favour. If you haven’t read anything else by her, I hope this doesn’t turn you off of her work entirely because it’s far from her strongest. I appreciate your perspective on the mother in particular because I never felt like we were expected to forgive her or even to see her as particularly “good”. To me, she was just as selfish a character as any of the rest of them, just in a different way. I do really wish that Danny’s wife had been a more well-rounded character. There was so much potential for her to add a new perspective.
Thank you! Yes, I think several of the book’s issues could have been rectified if she’d included another perspective. A dual narrative told by Danny and Maeve could have been much more interesting, and would have allowed her to explore certain ideas in much greater depth.
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