The Dutch House

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to

ISBN 0062963678
(ISBN13: 9780062963673)

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.

337 pages

Published September 24th 2919

(Harper)

First Impression

Set in the 1st person The Dutch House is in three parts, giving the life story of a boy called Danny, who is 8 when he is introduced to us...

As an audience we are taken on the journey as Danny explains his experiences and relationships with those around him through his life.

My Rating ⭐⭐

I was looking forward to reading The Dutch House (May 2020 BOTM), but after a while it seemed to fall a bit flat. 

Upon reading the first 5 chapters I felt really sorry for Danny and his sister, Maeve as the have a strained relationship with their father especially after their mother left.

After their father remarries to Angela, who has two daughters herself both Danny and Maeve are pushed even further away and rely on eachother.

Some of the things I found issue with it the fact that it seems more like I was reading a time jump as Danny was 8 then a teenager. Through this I struggled to piece together a idea of what I was reading. 

As soon as I hit chapter 9 I felt I could push through any more as I was underwhelmed and quite frankly I was lost.

Quotes

"But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we're not seeing it as the people we were, we're seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered.”

“Disappointment comes from expectation,”