The Dutch House: A Read with Jenna Pick

Ann Patchett

Sep 2019 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Pulitzer Prize Finalist | New York Times Bestseller | A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick | A New York Times Book Review Notable Book | TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of the Year

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post; O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Refinery29, and Buzzfeed

From Ann Patchett, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth, comes a powerful, richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

Ratings and reviews

Here's another engrossing read from Ann Patchett about the lifelong relationship between two siblings and the house they grow up in. The Dutch House is an oversize, hand-crafted mansion built by a wealthy Dutch couple outside Philadelphia. After their deaths the house, with all its contents, wind up in the hands of an ambitious real estate entrepreneur, his wife, and two children. It's the relationship between these two children (Danny and Maeve) that is central in the book. Danny is the book's narrator and his sister, six years older, becomes the central figure in his life. While I won't relay more details for fear of spoiling your own discovery of this wonderful story, the novel turns out to be full of rich, complex and deeply real relationships. It explores the ways well-meaning partners unintentionally overlook and hurt their mates. The profound, lifelong bond between parent and child. The ways blended families do and do not work out. And how unresolved childhood issues can haunt adult lives. They are stories about commitment and love, anger and revenge, deep loyalty, and the reliable nature of memory. The characters are richly drawn and multi-layered and it's a pleasure to accompany them on their individual voyages of self-discovery.

Here's another engrossing read from Ann Patchett about the lifelong relationship between two siblings and the house they grow up in. The Dutch House is an oversize, hand-crafted mansion built by a wealthy Dutch couple outside Philadelphia. After their deaths the house, with all its contents, wind up in the hands of an ambitious real estate entrepreneur, his wife, and two children. It's the relationship between these two children (Danny and Maeve) that is central in the book. Danny is the book's narrator and his sister, six years older, becomes the central figure in his life. While I won't relay more details for fear of spoiling your own discovery of this wonderful story, the novel turns out to be full of rich, complex and deeply real relationships. It explores the ways well-meaning partners unintentionally overlook and hurt their mates. The profound, lifelong bond between parent and child. The ways blended families do and do not work out. And how unresolved childhood issues can haunt adult lives. They are stories about commitment and love, anger and revenge, deep loyalty, and the reliable nature of memory. The characters are richly drawn and multi-layered and it's a pleasure to accompany them on their individual voyages of self-discovery.

Fun to read but seemed too soap opera-y, contrived.

About the author

Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.