The Dutch House
“In Ann Patchett’s eighth novel, The Dutch House, everyone and everything bustles with vitality. It is a story about the interminable bond between siblings and it is an absolute joy to read. The novel follows a brother and sister who grow up in a fairy tale—a huge house, a loving father, and a caring staff. The only thing that’s missing is their mother, who had a more fraught existence, and fled the pressures of managing the household when they were young. When their father dies and leaves his fortune to their stepmother, the kids are left to fend for themselves, going on to live a drastically different life than they had imagined. The house of their youth haunts them through adulthood, and revenge is their desire—but not in the way you imagine. ”
I could chose a lot of things to talk about when it comes to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. It has layered characters, a compelling story, and a setting that is as much a character as the narrator. Nothing stood out for me more, though, than the way Patchett takes readers with her moving back and forth through time.
As the story builds, we jump between the narrator’s childhood, teenage years, middle and late adulthood in the natural way of someone recalling their life. But Patchett uses very few obvious sign-post statements. Instead of highlighting each transition by saying something like ‘It was 1969 and I was twelve,' Patchett keeps you with her simply by referencing whether or not the characters are still smoking, what school the narrator is coming home from or whether he and his sister are inside or outside the Dutch House in their car. This style of transition feels organic, but it also sets readers up so when they eventually learn why the narrator went to those schools, is sitting in that car or even why he smokes it’s like discovering something about a good friend. The result is a narrative that feels organic and effortless. The skill to pull it off is masterful.
