The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is my top 10 favorite nonfiction of the year. I never heard of this author and to be honest what pulled me to read the book was the cover. It’s stunning. The writing and just over all story had me up late night reading. I must have this for my home library. This was an easy 5 star for me.

Thank you Harper Collins & NetGalley for gifting this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I met Ann Patchett in Petoskey the fall of 2016. Prior to then, I had met her dog and visited her bookstore, so it really was about time that I met her. It was at this event that she shared the title of her newest book, which later was changed to The Dutch House.

Now let me tell you something, I know Ann about as well as a reader can without actually knowing her. Contrary to popular belief, this is not because I stalk her (which apparently is what people say when you attend two author events- for separate books I might add) but because I've read her books, watched her interviews, followed her book reviews, and heard her conversations with other authors thanks to YouTube. Perhaps that does sound like stalking... Regardless, it is why I can tell you that her newest novel is soaked in her more than any other novel I've ever read. 

Doctors, divorce, stepfamilies, strangers thrown together, Catholicism, Buddhism, book references... a character eats grilled cheese in a bathtub! A bathtub! Let's be real, the grilled cheese in the bathtub bit was what really screamed Ann to me (although I think she is a vegan now). There are characters with the last name of Norcross, reference to the owners of McLean and Eakin in Petoskey. It was so real that it didn't seem made up at all which is why I can tell you, with some trepidation and a whole lot of guilt, that I didn't love it.

Most authors start with an autobiographical novel and then the pipes get cleared out, creativity flows, and they move on. Ann's first books were not autobiographical, which is why she felt the desire to go back and do exactly that in her novel, Commonwealth.  Commonwealth was brilliant. It was beautiful and brilliant, but we've already been there. We've done that. It's time to move on. The Dutch House felt like a Commonwealth redo to me and it was a let down. 

Authors write for themselves. They write harder things just to see if they can and it doesn't matter that I wasn't a fan. I appreciate all I learned about Ann's approach to this novel by reading Mary Laura Philpott's interview with her. I'd encourage you to read it too because the best bit about attending book clubs is when someone explains all the reasons they loved a book and it encourages you to take a second look. So read her interview and then read the book yourself. What do you think?

Every time I hear about a new Ann Patchett book coming out, I get excited. The Dutch House was well worth the wait. I snagged an ARC of it several months ago, and made myself wait until September to read it.

The novel surprised me because I could not predict where the story was going, even though the premise, that Maeve and Danny are kicked out of their childhood home and robbed of their inheritance, is spelled out from the very beginning. The story is believable, the characters are fully formed and flawed, just like normal people, and it was a real page turner.

By the end of the book I really wanted to discuss it with someone and think it would make an excellent book club read. I am still pondering the question Maeve and Danny discuss, "“'Do you think it’s possible to ever see the past as it actually was?" This is a question that I often ask myself.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. It hasn't changed my view of the book. (

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley, I was fortunate to receive a copy of Ann Patchett’s latest book, The Dutch House, in exchange for my honest review. I was a big fan of Bel Canto and Commonwealth, so my expectations were quite high going in…

The story focuses on Maeve Conroy and her younger brother Danny, siblings whose father Cyril started his huge real estate empire right after the end of World War II. Cyril’s family zoomed from poverty to extreme wealth, and his early purchase of a gigantic estate known as The Dutch House in the Philadelphia suburbs began the slide into the dark lives his family is destined to live over the next fifty years.

The story is told by Danny, as he and Maeve find themselves exiled from The Dutch House by their stepmother. Following the exile, the two wealthy siblings find they have only each other to rely on as they go from the wealth of their childhood to the poverty their parents had experienced.

The Dutch House is on the surface a story of inheritance and forgiveness, also revealing a story of how people want to see themselves vs. who they really are. There is suspense, excellent characterization, and the kind of entertainment for which Ann Patchett has become so popular. Expectations met. Five stars.

The Dutch House is a story of siblings, Danny and Maeve Conroy, their ongoing connection with their childhood home, their deep connection to each other and how their lives unfold. Family, loss, and deep love and perseverance. A true gem.

Danny Conroy knows well who the most important person in his life is. It's his older sister, Maeve. His father, Cyril, is a self-made man, someone who moved up from the poverty he was raised in to remake himself as a wealthy man dealing in real estate. His first big deal once he struck it rich was to buy Dutch House, a fabulous house in the Philadelphia suburbs, built by a magnate and on the market with everything inside, clothes, furniture, kitchen settings, photographs, etc. He buys this house and then surprises his wife with it.

She is definitely surprised. She had planned to become a nun until Cyril talked her out of it halfway through her novice time. She is appalled by the showy house and cannot get used to it. She only wants to help others and slowly she moves away from the family, going back to the convent and staying for longer and longer periods of time, working with the poor. Finally, when Maeve is a preteen and Danny around four, she leaves forever, running off to India. At that point, Maeve becomes even more of a mother figure for Danny and his life revolves around her.

Cyril decides to remarry. Andrea is younger than Cyril by several decades and she comes with two little girls. The war between her, Maeve and the household staff is immediate and unrelenting. Andrea is determined to remake everything in the house and their lives to suit herself and they all feel that they were doing just fine without her and her ideas. When Cyril dies unexpectedly, Andrea has her chance. She kicks out Danny who is fifteen at the time. He moves into Maeve's apartment and they soon realize that Andrea gets everything and that they have gone from wealth to poverty except for an educational trust that will pay for Danny's college.

Over the years, Danny and Maeve's lives seem stuck in the rut of this injustice. Although Danny marries and has children, Maeve seems stuck in the same place, same little house, same little job. They are the most important person to each other no matter what else happens. Marriages, children, jobs, careers, nothing outweighs the tie between the two and the horrible thing that happened to them.

Ann Patchett is an automatic read for me. She seems interested these days in family relationships as this book and her last, Commonwealth, explore the various ways that families exist and what they mean to the members inside them. Danny and Maeve are interesting characters and it is hard to see them stuck in the injustice that was done to them when they were just starting out. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

The Dutch House is an intense examination of the complicated family relationships in the Conroy family. The story is narrated by Danny Conroy unveiling the deep unbreakable bond between Danny and his overprotective and domineering, but loving, sister Maeve over the course of five decades. The Dutch House itself is a pivotal element of the story.
The relationships between parents and children, siblings and husbands and wives are all affected in some way by the house.
Elna,Danny and Maeve’s birth mother hated the house and the decadent opulence it represented. Andrea, their “wicked” stepmother has an ungodly obsession with the house and will stop at nothing to control and possess it. When her husband Cyril Conroy(Danny and Maeve’s father), unexpectedly dies, she gains sole ownership of the house and evicts the two from the home. Despite their exile, Danny and especially Maeve could not let go of their emotional attachment to the house that they grew up in as well as the loss of their previous lifestyle. As a result of their banishment, Maeve takes control of the direction of Danny’s life choices which he reluctantly accepts. A surprise twist in the story throws a curve into Danny and Maeve’s relationship. Their ability for forgiveness is tested. A reminder that nothing in life is a sure thing. A memorable read.

The Dutch House was a difficult read for me. Typically I tear through books, caught up in the story and/or the characters. I didn't feel that way about The Dutch House. I read a few pages and put it down. I left it for a couple of days and came back to it. I wanted to abandon it, but I made myself read it. Bottom line: I didn't like the characters. I wanted to just tell them to get a grip and go on with life.

“The Dutch House” starts off slow but deepens and brightens in a long slow burn of Patchett’s genius. A natural for book clubs with its complex interrelationships, the book gets better and better right to the last page. Over decades, with first-person narrator Danny and his beloved sister Maeve Conroy at the center, connections are broken, shuffled, and reforged. Old scores get settled or fade into irrelevance with the passage of time. Characters, even Danny, evolve in surprising ways. The house itself could be counted as a character in the novel, and the opulent mansion is both embraced and rejected, by turns holding characters in its thrall and forgotten—almost.

{My Thoughts}
The Dutch House has cemented Ann Patchett at the very top of my favorite authors list. I have loved so many of her books including Bel Canto, State of Wonder and Commonwealth, but for me The Dutch House tops them ALL. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. This IS my number one Ann Patchett book, but I can’t tell you much about it because I refuse to rob anyone of the wonderful reading experience I had as her story unfolded before me. I had intended to savor the story, to stretch out my reading of it. I failed. The Dutch House was just too compelling, too immersive. I got lost in her story and nothing else mattered until I’d reached the end.

Make no mistake about it, The Dutch House is a love story, but a very different kind of love story. It’s the story of the lifelong bond between Danny and his older sister, Maeve. These are siblings who truly care about each other throughout their lives, often putting the other before all others in their decision-making. If there is any dysfunction between the two, it lies in that bond, but I found it very refreshing.

“…then she turned and went back inside, leaving me to stand in the swirl of leaves and think about what I owed her. By any calculation, it was everything.”

The other love story in the book is that of the relationship Danny and Maeve have with the house they grew up in, the Dutch House. To both that home means everything and they never can let go of their feelings for it, making the house itself a character in this novel. Herein lays the dysfunction in The Dutch House, some from Danny and Maeve and their joint obsession, but much more from the house itself, and the reasons for the siblings no longer being welcome there. That’s all I can say!

“My father said we would pick Maeve up and the three of us would have lunch, then he would drive back to Elkins Park without me. It sounded so nostalgic when he said it, the three of us, as if we had once been a unit instead of just a circumstance.”

Whether or not you’re a fan of Ann Patchett, I highly recommend you try The Dutch House. It’s honestly difficult for me to imagine anyone not loving this book. I already knew Patchett as a master storyteller, and this quiet, lovely story is further proof of that.
Grade: A

BONUS INFO: If you’re a fan of audiobooks, you might want to listen to this one. Danny tells the story in first person and the narrator is TOM HANKS. I can only imagine how great that’s going to be. I just may have to listen to The Dutch House, too!

How does she do it again and again?
Ann Patchett remains at the top of her game. Her writing and characters are brilliant - and her style contributes to how you come to know the players in this family saga.
The March House features an actual house as a character in this sibling story of loss, drifting, finding each other, choosing to see what we see, and choosing what to reveal - all at the same time in a fast moving, delightful read.
Fans of Patchett will enjoy this as much as her others - as will any readers who enjoy a good, entwined story that sweeps you away.
Bravo!

Relationships are explored between husbands & wives, siblings, parents & siblings, individuals & their homes. Real estate in general and one house in particular plays a huge role in shaping the lives of its inhabitants. Characters are exceptionally well developed so I ached for those trying to make a future by leaving the past behind. This novel also explores greed, anger, and responsibilities within families and communities.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

Every once in awhile I will pick up a book and immediately upon reading the very first page, I know it will be a winner!!! This was the feeling I had the entire time I read this wonderful and emotionally charged novel by Ann Patchett. When I read the last lines I knew that I was going to miss the characters! I especially bonded with Maeve as we shared the same “affliction”. The cast of characters are so vivid in my mind, I will have a difficult time jumping right into another book....

See my review at Splash Magazines webzine. The house is a main character, representing the family structure and its enmeshed relationships. What is love? For the two main characters, brother and sister, it's devotion arising from mutual emotional dependence. But in their relationship to the others, it's not affection. It's not animosity. It's endurance.

Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors and her new book, “The Dutch House”, fed my love of her stories and writings.

The Dutch House was a strong character in the book. Having grown up with physical places playing strong influence in my life, it was easy to relate to Maeve’s and Danny’s bond to their childhood home and the impact of the loss of that home. The home was a physical representation of what they really loss as children. Ann Patchett brilliantly ties together each character and their history to this physical place to tell a story that will resonate with readers.

Some books come out of the starting gate with a bang and just explode inside your brain as you read. Other books are like a slow ride down a lazy river, you take in every nuance along the way. This lovely book is the latter. I devoured it slowly and enjoyed every single morsel. I absolutely adore this book and I can’t stop thinking about it. Of course, the house is a big part of it. A house so big and loaded with things from the previous tenants that some people wanted nothing to do with it. Some people would give anything and anyone up to have it. The descriptions of it put you right inside it. I would love to walk through it. The heart of this novel though is really the love between a brother and a sister who were everything to each other. A sister who would do anything for her brother and a brother who would give up anything for his sister. There are so many emotions on display throughout the story. The heartbreak is heartbreaking. The disappointments, the triumphs, the struggles are all so real. It was hard to say goodbye to these characters and I love how it completely went full circle. One of the loveliest books I have read in quite a while.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this wonderful book. The review is my humble opinion.

After their father’s sudden death, siblings Maeve and Danny Conroy are quickly evicted from the Dutch House, their family mansion, by their vindictive stepmother. They aren’t even allowed to take the things that had belonged to their own mother who had abandoned the family when they were young children. Periodically, Maeve and Danny park across the street from the house and just watch, trying to catch sight of their stepmother or stepsisters. They are not sure why, since neither wants to enter the house or speak with the inhabitants. The obsession with the Dutch House continues throughout their lives, as does the mystery of their mother.

With its meaning for each family member, the house itself is actually the main character, the common thread in the book, the thing that keeps pulling them back. It’s like the house has some kind of magic, with glass walls (it’s noted several times that an outsider can see right through the house), a third floor ballroom, and a (hideous) dining room with a starry ceiling. When their father purchased it, the house came complete with the furnishings, down to the artwork on the walls and clothing in the closets. Another reviewer mentioned they were creeped out by the cover art, but the painting on the cover is actually part of the story.

The younger sibling Danny is the narrator, and Maeve is the center of the story of Danny’s life, since she stepped in to fill the role of their missing mother. Danny has a rather juvenile world view in that he has never questioned or considered many of the things about his life (Sandy and Jocelyn being sisters, why his mother deserted the family, his impact on Maeve’s life), long after he should have been mature enough to figure things out. There is a fairy tale aspect as well, with Maeve and Danny being a modern-day Hansel and Gretel, thrown out of their home by their wicked stepmother, spending their lives longing to find their way home, even having three fairy godmothers who look after them in the form of Sandy, Jocelyn, and Fluffy.

I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Patchett does such a great job with characters and big family sagas. The Dutch House reminded me a lot of Commonwealth, Patchett’s previous novel, switching back and forth between time periods and locations, and also of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in the wide scope of the story. In addition to the fairy tale theme, there is a lot of history repeating itself and things coming full circle. I think this would be a great book club selection, since there is so much to discuss. The only thing to be aware of is that the story is not told chronologically, so if your book group doesn’t like stories that jump around, this title is not for you.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in return for a review.

I loved the characters in "The Dutch House" as much as I loved the characters in Patchett's earlier book, "Commonwealth." The sibling relationship at the core of this book was so beautifully and endearingly rendered. These people were real to me, and I think I will stay thinking about them for quite some time. This will be a bestseller, and it's a must-read for anyone who loves books about unruly families.

. Like the best of Ann Patchett's books, this was instantly absorbing and I found myself lost in its world. The house in the title cast a long shadow over the book and over the lives of Maeve and Danny. Even when they are cast out, they cannot escape its power over the course of their lives. The end is both expected and surprising, as well as ultimately satisfying.

This novel is certain to be one of the "big" novels of the fall. Its author Ann Patchett is well known for her thoughtful, literary style and moving story lines The Dutch House will be welcomed by Patchett's loyal readers and may well attract some new fans.

The book tells the story of siblings, Maeve and Danny, those around them and the home that resonates with them. The story moves back and forth in time as characters and their stories take center stage or temporarily recede.

This is a complex and sophisticated novel that makes readers think about relationships (parent/child, stepparent/child, husband/wife, siblings, step-siblings, those who work for families), finding a way in life, sacrifices and choices. Readers will not forget The Dutch House and those who lived there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchange for an honest review.