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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The year is 1686, and Petronella Oortman has arrived in Amsterdam, to join her new husband Johannes Brandt. He is a wealthy merchant who is seldom home, and she is left at the mercy of his sister Marin. Overwhelmed by what is going on and the new experiences and people, she is looking to her husband for comfort but he is not interested. Instead she has a constant battle with his sister over all manner of small details.
Brandt's wedding gift to her is a beautiful dolls house, a miniature of her new home, and she engages a miniaturist to make objects to go in it. Nella's first commission from her is beautiful and exquisite, and in some ways alarming as the pieces are exact replicas of the things that surround her. She befriends the maid, who has a habit of listening to conversations at the keyhole, but trying to comprehend the whole picture is sometime beyond her. Petronella starts to make moves towards intimacy with her husband, but she is rejected. Pained by this she slowly realises that all is not what is seems in that household, and that there are many things that she doesn't know; one of which she discovers on visiting her husbands office.
Brandt is under pressure to sell a batch of sugar, but as Nella starts to unravel the secrets between him and his sister and old friends of theirs, the objects from the miniaturist start to have a sinister and erie predictions to what is happening. Brand is caught in a compromising situation and the fragile relationships that he has are blown apart and it it up to Nella to try and hold it all together, before a dramatic and tense conclusion to the story.
For a debut author this is fairly accomplished. It is reasonably well written, with complex and dark characters and a plot line that has twists and turns aplenty, as the secrets of the siblings are revealed and unravel. It is a brave plot too, with and ending that is not neatly done and dusted, and reveals the complexity of human relationships and rivalries.
Brandt's wedding gift to her is a beautiful dolls house, a miniature of her new home, and she engages a miniaturist to make objects to go in it. Nella's first commission from her is beautiful and exquisite, and in some ways alarming as the pieces are exact replicas of the things that surround her. She befriends the maid, who has a habit of listening to conversations at the keyhole, but trying to comprehend the whole picture is sometime beyond her. Petronella starts to make moves towards intimacy with her husband, but she is rejected. Pained by this she slowly realises that all is not what is seems in that household, and that there are many things that she doesn't know; one of which she discovers on visiting her husbands office.
Brandt is under pressure to sell a batch of sugar, but as Nella starts to unravel the secrets between him and his sister and old friends of theirs, the objects from the miniaturist start to have a sinister and erie predictions to what is happening. Brand is caught in a compromising situation and the fragile relationships that he has are blown apart and it it up to Nella to try and hold it all together, before a dramatic and tense conclusion to the story.
For a debut author this is fairly accomplished. It is reasonably well written, with complex and dark characters and a plot line that has twists and turns aplenty, as the secrets of the siblings are revealed and unravel. It is a brave plot too, with and ending that is not neatly done and dusted, and reveals the complexity of human relationships and rivalries.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn't think I'd like this book. I know nothing about miniatures, and even less about 1600s Amsterdam. I know zilch about merchant trading and sugar plantations. But this book kept popping up on the year's best lists everywhere, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It ended up being SO much more than all of those things listed, and I had a hard time putting it down. It's a very compelling story about people. People and their secrets and what they do to hide them. Great read, and I highly recommend it!
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a book that I would have expected to rate 3 stars. But the whole time I read it I kept surprising myself with how much I enjoyed the story. It had many elements I've criticized in other books but I liked it all the same. Nella and Marin reminded me of Alma Whittaker in The Signature of All Things, which could explain some of the appeal.
Meh. It took soooo long for anything to actually happen, and even upon finishing it, I feel like the plot was really lacking.