The Dutch House: A Novel - Softcover

Patchett, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062966294 ISBN 13: 9780062966292

Publisher: Harper, 2019

Synopsis

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder, comes Ann Patchett's most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and of who we really are.

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 unshakeable 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.

About this title

Review:

"A lavishly gifted writer."--Los Angeles Times

"Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction."--New York Times Book Review

"Patchett is a master storyteller."--O, the Oprah Magazine

"Enchanting."--PEOPLE Magazine, Best Books of Fall 2019

"Patchett writes enviable prose--fluid, simple, direct, clear, and fearless."--Esquire

"Patchett is at her subtle yet shining finest in this gloriously incisive, often droll, quietly suspenseful drama of family, ambition, and home. . . . With echoes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and in sync with Alice McDermott, Patchett gracefully choreographs surprising revelations and reunions as her characters struggle with the need to be one's true self."--Booklist

"This is an author that specializes in extremely legible yarns."--New York magazine

"The Dutch House is a big-hearted, capacious novel..."--Chapter 16

"Patchett's prose is confident, unfussy and unadorned."--The New York Times

"As always, the author draws us close to her protagonists swiftly and gracefully."--Wall Street Journal

About the Author:

ANN PATCHETT is the author of seven novels and three works of nonfiction. She is the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, England's Orange Prize, and the Book Sense Book of the Year, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. She is the co-owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband, Karl, and their dog, Sparky. annpatchett.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0062966294
• ISBN 13: 9780062966292
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352