The Dutch House

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett reminded me how much I love creepy old houses and the secrets they hold. I haven’t in a while, but I used to dream about my grandparent’s old Victorian in Taunton all the time. In this book, the house itself is just another quirky character, personification at its finest.

All the story's main characters either love or hate the Dutch House, and in turn, it brings them peace or causes them misery as the plot unfolds. Some characters experience both over the course of about four decades.

It is the story of the relationship between a brother and sister who spent their formative years growing up in the house, purchased by their distant father as a symbol of his financial success and prosperity in business. The Dutch House is an acquired taste, however, and it ultimately contributes to the demise of their parent's marriage because of their mother's disdain for it.

There is a portion of the middle of this book where my mind wandered, but Part Three drew me back in. I enjoyed how the ending created a sense of reckoning with life's complexities, especially for the protagonist, Danny Conroy, who we meet at the beginning of the book as an eight-year-old. The story centers on the bond between Danny and his beloved yet unreserved sister Maeve, who is seven years his elder. Maeve's portrait graces the book's cover, foretelling a significant plot event involving the legacy of the house.