Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

19 reviews

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit, War, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

emjay2021's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I read Tom Lake a few weeks ago, I was so taken by it. So, I thought I’d try another Ann Patchett. The audiobook of The Dutch House became available and my cousin had recommended it on the strength of Tom Hanks’ narration. Well, she was not wrong! I loved it. The story was fascinating and sucked me in immediately; the characters were all so well rounded the felt like real people. Everyone was flawed, some more than others. It’s such a sad story and yet Patchett has a deceptively light touch.

I found it very hard to empathize with Danny and Maeve’s mother for abandoning her children, particularly given how horribly Andrea treated them. And their father was not much better, allowing Andrea to dominate them and eventually cut them off from their inheritance. And yet, at the end of the story, both Elna and Andrea, the two mothers who have failed their children so miserably, are locked in a relationship with each other (Andrea unknowingly, Elna deliberately). What a strange ending. It surprised me, and yet at the same time, I was not that surprised.

I loved Maeve. She was flawed but fierce. Danny, the narrator, is not particularly self-aware until the very end, but that’s not really too surprising. I enjoyed his wry observations and his always admiring, loving descriptions of his sister. This is really a story of siblings, a fairy tale like Hansel and Gretel. If you liked Tom Lake I would totally recommend this. And alhough I loved Tom Lake, I feel like this is an even better book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Dementia, Grief, Medical content, and Death of parent

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, and Dementia

Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bearlynormalursa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Mental illness, Grief, and Emotional abuse

sarah_amy's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Tom Hank's narration scores most of the points in this novel. I love his art of storytelling. However, I found the story itself uninteresting. The characters had plenty of substance; I liked the relationship between the brother and sister in particular, but the plot itself was quite unmoving. 2 siblings unable to move forward from the past until they eventually do.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

inlibraryitrust's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Dementia, and Medical content

jjoyce's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

eg_demps's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Dementia, and Emotional abuse

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Interesting and the idea of the house being like a central character felt a little bit different. Definitely an examination of just how messy humans and families can be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Infidelity, and Medical content

veganecurrywurst's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

all I wanted was for Maeve to be happy. She deserved peace

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness

Minor: Medical content