Audiobook Review: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

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 unshakable 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.

The Dutch House is the story of Danny and his older sister Maeve. They grew up in the Dutch House, a huge mansion that their father surprised their mother with after he made his fortune in real estate. Unfortunately, their mother suffers from some sort of imposter syndrome and doesn’t feel deserving of their new wealthy lifestyle. She abandons the family to serve the poor in India when Danny is just three years old. Danny and Maeve’s father is cold and distant. He doesn’t quite know what to do with children so they are raised primarily by the housekeepers Sandy and Jocelyn.

The Dutch House spans several decades. It’s interesting that while it’s told from Danny’s point of view, Maeve is just as much of a central character as he is. At one point, someone refers to them as being like Hansel and Gretel and I think that’s true. The Dutch House is very much like a fairytale. One day Danny and Maeve’s father brings home Andrea, who becomes the evil stepmother in this fairytale. Her presence brings Danny and Maeve even closer than they already are. The Dutch House is also just as much a character as any human in the book and continues to cause Danny and Maeve pain long after their mother leaves them.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dutch House. I liked that it was told to the reader by present-day Danny, who remembers how he felt in his childhood but can also see the things that happened back then from a different perspective as an adult. Danny and Maeve had a truly special relationship that I appreciated. The Dutch House was the July selection for one of my book clubs and it gave us a lot to talk about. One of the best discussions was about whether or not it’s possible to make a mother who abandons her children a sympathetic character. It’s been done successfully with fathers but not with any mothers that we could think of. Ann Patchett said in an interview that she tried and failed to make the mother in The Dutch House sympathetic:

“I wrote this book, got all the way to the end, read it, hated it, threw it away and started over. And I mean completely. What I realized in having it bomb so completely is that you cannot write a sympathetic character who leaves her children for ethical reasons. There is definitely a different standard for men and women, and I wanted to take that on. And I realized that I couldn’t. We sing songs about Odysseus, and we pray to the Buddha [both of whom left home], and nobody thinks about their sons. I sat down on the carpet in the middle of my office. I imagined every mother on my street who has young children, and her leaving her children to go and do important work for the poor. And I was angry at all of them.”

I listened to the audiobook of The Dutch House because it’s narrated by Tom Hanks. He does an excellent job, of course. Highly recommended.

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