Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

39 reviews

edytaworyna's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

I can really see why people love this one. Even though I'm not one for what's usually described as 'beautiful prose', I found a few lines that I loved for accurately and poetically describing everyday life. 

I even probably would have finished it, despite an only mild interest in the story, except that I hit a point where the family tensions described got to feel too stressful to me for it to be worth continuing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

coffeespooncait's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Dementia

renepierre's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

“We had made a fetish out of our misfortune, fallen in love with it.”

An early contender for a favourite book of the year. The story follows Danny and Maeve, brother and sister growing up in the Dutch House, a place of grandeur that holds a history of its own. When their mother disappears and their father remarries a women named Andrea, everything changes. The siblings are shows an act of betrayal that they will hold onto and obsess over for the rest of their lives, which ultimately changes the trajectory of their lives. Patchett explores selfishness through all of her characters, but at the same time, adds a level of selflessness in them that constantly contradicts and levels them out as they try to navigate their lives and recover from their whole world being torn apart. 

The only reason this book isn’t a five star read for me is because of the amount of typos throughout this novel, I found it really distracting, especially in the important scenes. 

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Content Warnings

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

skylaturner's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

sadiefc's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

horationelson's review against another edition

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

4.0

 Overall, I liked this book, and will probably check out some other books by Patchett. The last twoish hours (of the audiobook) fell kind of flat. The

reappearance of the first Mrs. Conroy

felt like... a deflation? It was disappointing and unbelievable. Maybe I'm not as goodhearted as Maeve and Danny learned to be in the end. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Infidelity and Vomit

massivepizzacrust's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical content

curatoriallyyours's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The pace of the story at the beginning was unbearably slow to me, and I found the storyline and characters somewhat confusing. Things picked up about half way through with the introduction of Celeste, then it all started falling into place. Essentially this is the story of a messed up family, centred around an extravagant house that is not in keeping with its surrounds. The characters are not particularly likeable but as you start to piece together their lives, you begin to understand why they are the way they are. I found myself thinking about the nature of marriage and the way real estate can affect relationships. I also thought there were some points of incisive commentary about values and human nature that made me think. So, if that's what you're into, this book is for you. If a slow pace is not up your alley, avoid this book like the plague!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, and Grief