Book Review: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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This is my favorite Ann Patchett title.

It’s been a while since I read The Dutch House, but it is so unforgettable that I wanted to remind you why you should read it if you haven’t or why you should re-read it if you have.

There are three central characters in this story: two siblings Maeve and Danny Conroy and the House itself, a mansion, built in 1922 in a suburb of Philadelphia. Originally built by a wealthy Dutch couple and purchased two decades later by Cyril Conroy, Maeve and Danny’s father, with only good intentions, the House takes hold of the siblings, and never lets go.

Patchett empathetically tells the story of the Conroys through the voice of Danny, over five decades, as life, love, and careers shift for the brother/sister duo. Abandoned by their “humanitarian” mother as children, raised by their emotionless father, and ousted by their young step mother, the pair find themselves sorting out their childhood trauma as they secretly revisit The Dutch House throughout their adulthood.

This is a story about the bond of siblings, the idea of family, and the power of forgiveness. It is told in memoir-style fiction and jumps around in time. It is about the weight of nostalgia, a paradise-lost-tale, and the meaning of home.

There are unexpected twists and turns, heartwarming and frustrating moments, but one thing is for sure - you won’t want to put this book down once you pick it up.

HIGHLY recommend.

Five stars!