The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I once owned a big house in Sea Cliff where I lived with my twin girls and their dad for seven years. The house at 2910 Lake was grand but when the marriage ended, we sold it and moved on. The day I left, leaving behind my wedding silver and china, I got into my car and blasted Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” so loudly that my car shook. I did not look back, and the four of us proceeded to build new lives. A friend had told me you can’t love a house, but you can certainly love and miss the people inside that house. This is the theme of Ann Patchett’s beautifully crafted novel “The Dutch House.” The best way to read this book is to listen to Tom Hanks perform it on audio. His voice is so well suited for Danny the narrator, that I wish Hanks could win an award for it. The pairing is perfect. I literally cheered at the end. “The Dutch House” is the story of Danny and his sister Mauve, who following the disappearance of their mother, are raised by their father, Cyril, in a mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Danny and Mauve’s happy life inside the house with their dad is turned upside down when Cyril re-marries a woman named Andrea with two daughters, Norma and Bright. Shortly after the marriage, Cyril dies suddenly and Andrea, triumphant as the evil step-mother, forces Danny and Mauve to move out. Together, the siblings use the only resource they have: a college fund, which Danny can use to go to medical school. Danny eventually marries and discovers he does not want to be a doctor, but rather craves a career in real estate like his father. Danny and Mauve drive back to the Dutch House often to sit in the car to revisit their childhood and their past, and the grand life they once had inside that house. Their relationship to the house, and the bond they share, provides the landscape for this beautiful, poignant family saga.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.