#36: The Dutch House
"I see the past as it actually was," Maeve said. She was looking at the trees.
"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."
The Dutch House is worthy of praise. Two siblings, Danny and Maeve, grow up rich in material resources but poor in every relationship beside their own. Their mother has left and their father is emotionally distant. A series of events unfolds that deprives them of any inheritance and they are forced to rebuild their lives, with only each other to rely on. As they age and have additional experiences, their understanding of the past deepens. I, like Danny, felt like I didn't have an "imagination large enough to encompass" certain moments in this book, which is a testament to good, grounded writing.
Maeve is one of my favorite characters from fiction and Danny is one of my least favorite. She is fiercely loyal and generous and her forgiving heart is inspirational. Danny is self absorbed and clueless and part of what infuriates me about him is how much of myself I see in him! He, like me, has a hard time letting go of the past and that infects his present. Both characters are well drawn out and Patchett almost wills them into existence in my imagination. I found myself caring deeply for them.
I seem to always struggle with how things end and this book was no exception. I read the last words, closed the book, let out a deep sigh, felt appreciative for the experience...and then I was ready to move on. I didn't immediately go rave about it to friends or family and insist they read it.
But now, as I'm re-reading what I highlighted and remembering the moments of beauty, I realize there could be people who need this story, perhaps for no other reason than to meet Maeve.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know from what fountains of literature you are drinking these days.
Kyle
I have good friends that are honest with me. Here is what Kina said after reading my review:
"I think you got it all wrong about Maeve...Also about Danny...you missed it man!!!
Maeve is the one who could never leave the past and pulls down Danny with her. And the only one who actually finds balance between the future and the past is May, Danny's daughter, and that is why the book ends so so beautifully. It didn't even matter that Danny became a doctor. It's that Danny repeats the same history as his father. And Maeve is the same, she can't move beyond her past, and that is why when her mother symbolically "leaves her" again to work for the step mom, Maeve can't handle it, and dies. There was never any hope for Maeve. There was for Danny. That hope died in that perfect scene when the author was talking about Danny's wife's golden curls and then suddenly "he couldn't see them anymore" or something to that effect. And then the next page, they got a divorce. Danny's wife represented the future. That's why she was physically the exact opposite of Maeve and why they hated each other so much. The only one who had hope, and took it, was May. She could live both in the shadow, and the light. That's why the last scene is so beautiful. When Danny comes to the house and sees May in the dark shadows of the house, but then she steps into the light and also resembles her mother...
The theme of light and dark and cyclical behavior was woven into the story so beautifully.
And even the classic reference to Cinderella was fantastic.
And also, the concept that Maeve was a mother to all but had no mother.
Oh, and the order of who entered the house and who exited was amazing.
And the painting! Don't even get me started. So so so well done with its symbolism.