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The Dutch House
By Ann Patchett
Harper, 9780062963673, September 2019, 352pp.

The Short of It:

A dark fairy tale of sorts told in a very modern way. Beautifully written and filled with flawed characters.

The Rest of It:

When Cyril buys a beautiful house for his wife, Elna, he believes it to be the most romantic gesture a man can make towards his wife, but what The Dutch House represents to Elna, is a lifestyle that she can never rise to, one of wealth and opulence. Coming from a convent, her needs are few, or so it seems but after years of living in the house and trying to raise her daughter Maeve and her son Danny, she abandons them for India to work with the poor.

This abandonment is devastating to Maeve and Danny but what ends up being even more devastating is their new stepmother, Andrea. Suddenly, Maeve and Danny are forced to rely on one another and the insular world they build to protect themselves from reality, affects them down the line and impacts their relationships with others.

This was not a perfect book. Some things could have been explored more fully but as I was reading it, I felt the presence of that house. This is an excellent example of a house portrayed as a character in the story. It’s pulsing with life even when lives are falling apart. It’s immune to decay, which isn’t the case for the families who have lived inside it. To some, it’s glittering and beautiful and grand and to others, it’s imposing and intimidating and a reminder of what could never be. I LOVED this aspect of the story. So much conflict in these characters and so much to ponder.

I only keep books which I have loved or ones which I think could be re-read and loved again over and over and The Dutch House falls into that category. I highly recommend it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Swap
By Robyn Harding
Gallery/Scout Press, 9781982141769, June 23, 2020, 336pp.

The Short of It:

In a pandemic, you need quick, fast reads that take you out of your current situation. The Swap accomplished that.

The Rest of It:

Swallow, “Low” for short, is an awkward teen whose family is polyamorous. Meaning, she has more than a mom and dad. More like an entire support team who have agreed to live as one happy family. No jealousy. No competition. She lives on an island that is open to these types of relationships. She thinks it’s a little weird but kind of gets it too. As for herself, she has no idea what she wants.

In walks Freya. She’s blonde and beautiful and magnetic. She’s also a grown woman. After she posts a flyer about pottery classes Low decides she’s buying whatever Freya is selling. As their pottery sessions turn into more than a friendship, at least in Low’s eyes, Freya begins to pit Low against another close friend of hers and the two compete for Freya’s attention which begins a dangerous game of tug of war.

Harding knows how to tell a story. She loops you in no matter how far-fetched the plot is. I read this in two sittings. Had it not been for work I would have finished it in one day. It ended in a surprising way and was a little over-the-top but that didn’t prevent me from savoring those last few pages. Have you read Harding before? I really enjoyed The Party a few years back.

The Swap comes out June 23rd but do add it to your list.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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