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Yun's Reviews > The Dutch House
The Dutch House
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The Dutch House starts out strong, but then ultimately doesn't go anywhere.
We are introduced to siblings Danny and Maeve, the center of this family saga. Their father strikes it rich and buys a lavish mansion known as The Dutch House as a surprise for their mother. That event reverberates with repercussions for everyone in the family and kicks off a five decade long story.
This is my first Ann Patchett, and I've heard amazing things about her, so I tore into this book with gusto. And I was hooked from the first page. I found the characters and the writing to be riveting and was thoroughly enthralled with where this story was going.
But then about a third of the way into it, a big turning point happened. And after that, well, I didn't really see the point of the story anymore. The writing remained interesting, but the characters and their actions stopped making sense to me. The story kind of fizzled out and then limped along without a clear narrative for the rest of the book.
Usually, even if I don't connect with a story, I can still guess what the author is trying to say. But in this case, I'm stumped. Perhaps it's the message that forgiveness is key no matter how egregious the wrong? But that doesn't make sense to me, so I honestly don't know.
The writing is still compelling enough that it helped carry the story through to the end, so I was never bored. But the last two thirds shambled along without momentum or purpose, and was utterly forgettable. It feels like I read a short story that reached its conclusion and then continued on for 200 more meandering pages.
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See also, my thoughts on:
Tom Lake
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
We are introduced to siblings Danny and Maeve, the center of this family saga. Their father strikes it rich and buys a lavish mansion known as The Dutch House as a surprise for their mother. That event reverberates with repercussions for everyone in the family and kicks off a five decade long story.
This is my first Ann Patchett, and I've heard amazing things about her, so I tore into this book with gusto. And I was hooked from the first page. I found the characters and the writing to be riveting and was thoroughly enthralled with where this story was going.
But then about a third of the way into it, a big turning point happened. And after that, well, I didn't really see the point of the story anymore. The writing remained interesting, but the characters and their actions stopped making sense to me. The story kind of fizzled out and then limped along without a clear narrative for the rest of the book.
Usually, even if I don't connect with a story, I can still guess what the author is trying to say. But in this case, I'm stumped. Perhaps it's the message that forgiveness is key no matter how egregious the wrong? But that doesn't make sense to me, so I honestly don't know.
The writing is still compelling enough that it helped carry the story through to the end, so I was never bored. But the last two thirds shambled along without momentum or purpose, and was utterly forgettable. It feels like I read a short story that reached its conclusion and then continued on for 200 more meandering pages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
Tom Lake
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
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The Dutch House.
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Reading Progress
January 10, 2020
–
Started Reading
January 10, 2020
– Shelved
January 12, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 242 (242 new)
message 1:
by
Constantine
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 11, 2020 11:56AM
I hope you are enjoying this one. Heard lots of good things about it.
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Constantine wrote: "I hope you are enjoying this one. Heard lots of good things about it."Thank you, Constantine! It's really interesting and I'm enjoying it so far! :)
Fantastic review! I never read anything from Patchett but my mum read two books from her and she said that there was not enough story/plot for the number of pages so, I sort of stayed away.
Excellent explanation Yun! I see a lot of mixed reviews for this one.
Awesome review. Sorry the story seemed to end partway in and it seems to lose its way, but I am glad you enjoyed most of it:)
What a shame this didn’t quite hit the mark. I have only read one book by this author so I don’t have much to go on as regards to her writing. Hope you enjoy your next read more 💕
Aww it was going so good, too bad it *ended* so abruptly. You know sometimes you wonder what happens to the life of the characters after the ending of a book? Guess this time you got to find out. Midbook. Great review btw :D !
What a shame that it fizzled out. Great review Yun 🤗
MischaS_ wrote: "Fantastic review! I never read anything from Patchett but my mum read two books from her and she said that there was not enough story/plot for the number of pages so, I sort of stayed away."Thank you, Mischa! I totally agree with your mom when it comes to this book. Even though I know this isn't a plot-driven book, still there needs to be something of interest happening. Otherwise, what am I reading for haha? :)
Paige wrote: "Excellent explanation Yun! I see a lot of mixed reviews for this one."Thank you, Paige! :)
Gary wrote: "Awesome review. Sorry the story seemed to end partway in and it seems to lose its way, but I am glad you enjoyed most of it:)"Thank you, Gary! I found enough to like that it was a worthwhile read, at least. :)
Sandra wrote: "What a shame this didn’t quite hit the mark. I have only read one book by this author so I don’t have much to go on as regards to her writing. Hope you enjoy your next read more 💕"Thank you, Sandra! Lots of others really loved this book, but it didn't quite do it for me, unfortunately. 💖
Federico wrote: "Aww it was going so good, too bad it *ended* so abruptly. You know sometimes you wonder what happens to the life of the characters after the ending of a book? Guess this time you got to find out. M..."Thank you, Federico! Ugh, I didn't need to know for 200 more pages what happened after the end of a story haha. :)
Ceecee wrote: "What a shame that it fizzled out. Great review Yun 🤗"Thank you, Ceecee! What a bummer! 💟
Very nice review, Yun!! Sorry you didn't enjoy this one more! 💖
Julie wrote: "Very nice review, Yun!! Sorry you didn't enjoy this one more! 💖"Thank you, Julie! I got enough out of it that it was still a worthwhile read! 😊💟
Great review -- this one remains in my TBR stack.
Wonderful review, Yun. You are always so fair and balanced.
Laurene wrote: "Great review -- this one remains in my TBR stack."Thank you, Laurene! When you get around to it, hopefully you enjoy it more than I did. :)
Dita wrote: "Wonderful review, Yun. You are always so fair and balanced."Thanks, Dita! 💖 Sometimes I think I'm too critical, especially on books everyone else loves, but then I feel how I feel lol.
Yun wrote: "Dita wrote: "Wonderful review, Yun. You are always so fair and balanced."
Thanks, Dita! 💖 Sometimes I think I'm too critical, especially on books everyone else loves, but then I feel how I feel lol."
People tell me that all of the time about my reviews but you know what? This is our space for our reactions and that's what I write in mine. People are free to agree, follow and read them...or not. : )
Thanks, Dita! 💖 Sometimes I think I'm too critical, especially on books everyone else loves, but then I feel how I feel lol."
People tell me that all of the time about my reviews but you know what? This is our space for our reactions and that's what I write in mine. People are free to agree, follow and read them...or not. : )
Dita wrote: "People tell me that all of the time about my reviews but you know what? This is our space for our reactions and that's what I write in mine. People..."True that! :)
A really superb review, Yun. I loved this book, but I can definitely see why you felt the way you did.
Yun wrote: "Dita wrote: "People tell me that all of the time about my reviews but you know what? This is our space for our reactions and that's what I write in mine. People..."
True that! :)"
: )
True that! :)"
: )
Sorry your intro to Patchett was just ok, Yun! I liked this one though I know it has mixed reviews. I felt like Danny and Maeve were a bit forgiving of their mom, more so than I predict I’d be, but I enjoyed the book for the most part. If you’re looking for more Patchett reads, I’d recommend Commonwealth (though the reviews also seem to be mixed, it’s my favorite) and State of Wonder.
Shame that the book peaked too early .......... I’m never sure why authors let that happen. Ann Patchett is a novelist I also want to try, so your excellent review was very useful Yun.
Michelle wrote: "A really superb review, Yun. I loved this book, but I can definitely see why you felt the way you did."Thank you, Michelle! I'm glad you found much to love about this book! :)
Brandice wrote: "Sorry your intro to Patchett was just ok, Yun! I liked this one though I know it has mixed reviews. I felt like Danny and Maeve were a bit forgiving of their mom, more so than I predict I’d be, but..."Thank you, Brandice! I'm glad you liked this book so much more than me! I am definitely interested to read more of her books, especially because I did enjoy her writing, if not the story line. So I appreciate the suggestions! :)
Richard wrote: "Shame that the book peaked too early .......... I’m never sure why authors let that happen. Ann Patchett is a novelist I also want to try, so your excellent review was very useful Yun."Thank you, Richard! If you get around to reading this one, I'd be interested to see what you think. :)
I've heard nothing but stellar praise for this book, so I really appreciate your honesty. Great review, Yun! I hope your next read will be awesome from start to finish!
Loved your review, Yun. Sorry it wasn’t a better read for you. This was actually a 4 star read for me, possibly due to the unusually tight and interesting relationship with brother and sister. I found it fascinating, but I get your feeling about the ending - it did kind of fizzle out and I felt extremely saddened.
Michelle wrote: "I've heard nothing but stellar praise for this book, so I really appreciate your honesty. Great review, Yun! I hope your next read will be awesome from start to finish!"Thank you, Michelle! It was a middle-of-the-road book for me, which is a different experience from everyone else. By the way, so good to see you on Goodreads, my friend! :)
Lyn wrote: "Loved your review, Yun. Sorry it wasn’t a better read for you. This was actually a 4 star read for me, possibly due to the unusually tight and interesting relationship with brother and sister. I fo..."Thank you, Lyn! I'm glad you enjoyed this much more than me. I can see why you found the siblings relationship to be interesting! Yes, it did fizzled out quite a bit towards the end, though I had hoped for a more even reading experience throughout.
I 100% agree Yun! We felt exactly the same way:"Usually even if I don't connect with a story, I can still guess what the author is trying to say, but in this case, I am stumped. Perhaps it's the message that forgiveness is key no matter how egregious the wrong? But that doesn't make sense to me, so I honestly don't know."
My thoughts exactly! I had real issues with this!
100% in agreement Yu - it started off so promising and then fizzled to nothing. Very disappointing - even though we appear to be in the minority of a VAST majority. xx
JanB wrote: "I 100% agree Yun! We felt exactly the same way:"Usually even if I don't connect with a story, I can still guess what the author is trying to say, but in this case, I am stumped. Perhaps it's the m..."
Thank you, Jan! I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that this book was a bit of a disappointment. :)
Lyn wrote: "100% in agreement Yu - it started off so promising and then fizzled to nothing. Very disappointing - even though we appear to be in the minority of a VAST majority. xx"Ah, sorry you found this one disappointing too, Lyn! Yes, we are in quite the minority here as everyone else loved this.
Fantastic review, Yun. I never read any book for Ann Patchett too. I don't like it when a book still continues without any purpose, it should end when there is nothing major to be said. I will pick this up sometime because at least you felt the writing was compelling. Thank you for the honest review.
Constantine wrote: "Fantastic review, Yun. I never read any book for Ann Patchett too. I don't like it when a book still continues without any purpose, it should end when there is nothing major to be said. I will pick..."Thank you, Constantine! I think chances are good that you'll enjoy this book, especially since so many others loved it. I look forward to seeing what you think of it. :)
That's a great way of describing the novel - a short story that then rambled along for another 200 pages. Excellent review, Yun. :):)
Peter wrote: "That's a great way of describing the novel - a short story that then rambled along for another 200 pages. Excellent review, Yun. :):)"Thank you, Peter! Haha yes! :)
Great review Yun! I'm reading this now, but not sure about it quite yet.
Holly wrote: "Great review Yun! I'm reading this now, but not sure about it quite yet."Thank you, Holly! Hope you enjoy it! I look forward to seeing what you think of it. :)
I'm about halfway through, and I'm no longer charmed by it like I was in the beginning. Thanks for your honest review, I'll probably return it to the library unfinished.
Krista wrote: "I'm about halfway through, and I'm no longer charmed by it like I was in the beginning. Thanks for your honest review, I'll probably return it to the library unfinished."Ah, too bad you're not really enjoying the book anymore, Krista! I know what you mean about the beginning being so charming, and then it dropped off. Hope you enjoy your next book more thoroughly from beginning to end! :)
This was exactly how I felt about the book. Thank you for putting my reaction into words. I actually said out loud about halfway through: "What are you going to do for the rest of the story?!?"
Kim wrote: "This was exactly how I felt about the book. Thank you for putting my reaction into words. I actually said out loud about halfway through: "What are you going to do for the rest of the story?!?""Lol! I'm glad someone else feels the same, Kim! :)
Great review, Yun. I felt the same. When "Fluffy" showed up again about half way through and started droning on and on I thought to myself " What's going on here?" I think Ms. Patchett wasn't fully committed to this project. The fact that the book held my attention to the end is a tribute to the literary skill of this wonderful author.
Michael wrote: "Great review, Yun. I felt the same. When "Fluffy" showed up again about half way through and started droning on and on I thought to myself " What's going on here?" I think Ms. Patchett wasn't ful..."
Thank you, Michael! Yes I totally agree... it was great writing, but the plot kind of petered out half way through!
Yun, you hit the nail on head with your review of this book. I’m currently on page 220 and was wondering if the book was even worth finishing? So, I started looking through the reviews and came across yours and couldn’t agree more with everything you said. I wanted to like this book, “State of Wonder” is one of my favorites by Ann Patchett, so I had high expectations for this one.
