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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Complicated
This was picked by for our Book Club! I had no prior knowledge of this historical fiction novel (or its sequel.) It was a perfectly timed book for Pride month too. While I enjoyed aspects of this, I was left wanting more.
17th century Amsterdam- 18 year old Nella meets her husband Johannes Brandt. She’s new to all wifely duties, alone in a world so new to her. Her sister in law Marin is not warm to her and Nella wonders if her cold marriage bed will ever be warmed. The only happiness in her life is a gift from her husband that is a miniature version of their home. She finds a miniaturist to create tiny furnishings for it. But the artist uses the creation to foreshadow events of the those in home….forcing Nella to confront the truths about her marriage.
What I liked: this novel was well researched and atmospheric (I rarely read books set in Amsterdam.) I found the miniaturist and the mystery surrounding it fascinating. I enjoyed the growth of Marin, from snotty sister in law to becoming my favorite character. The narration of this on audio was pretty great (although members of my book club didn’t care for the characterization of Marin in this format. I hadn’t thought about it but do agree with them!)
What didn’t work for me: I found Nella unrealistic, from so naive to so worldly by the end without much actual growth shown? I also struggle with accepting that Nella was a real human but this novel changed soooo much about her life. Lastly, I wanted more on the miniaturist! I understand there’s a sequel but I was left with a lot of questions. Overall, I’m glad I listened to it but it’s not a favorite historical fiction book of mine.
✨Content Warnings: Homophobia, Animal Death, Racism, Pregnancy, Religious Bigotry, Medical Trauma, Death of a Parent, Classism, Sexual Content, Child Death
✨Themes: Gender Inequality, Supernatural, Secrets
✨You May Like This If You Enjoyed:
-The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)
-In Memorium (Alice Winn)
[To be clear, I think both of these books are better than what I’m reviewing but there are similar themes!]
17th century Amsterdam- 18 year old Nella meets her husband Johannes Brandt. She’s new to all wifely duties, alone in a world so new to her. Her sister in law Marin is not warm to her and Nella wonders if her cold marriage bed will ever be warmed. The only happiness in her life is a gift from her husband that is a miniature version of their home. She finds a miniaturist to create tiny furnishings for it. But the artist uses the creation to foreshadow events of the those in home….forcing Nella to confront the truths about her marriage.
What I liked: this novel was well researched and atmospheric (I rarely read books set in Amsterdam.) I found the miniaturist and the mystery surrounding it fascinating. I enjoyed the growth of Marin, from snotty sister in law to becoming my favorite character. The narration of this on audio was pretty great (although members of my book club didn’t care for the characterization of Marin in this format. I hadn’t thought about it but do agree with them!)
What didn’t work for me: I found Nella unrealistic, from so naive to so worldly by the end without much actual growth shown? I also struggle with accepting that Nella was a real human but this novel changed soooo much about her life. Lastly, I wanted more on the miniaturist! I understand there’s a sequel but I was left with a lot of questions. Overall, I’m glad I listened to it but it’s not a favorite historical fiction book of mine.
✨Content Warnings: Homophobia, Animal Death, Racism, Pregnancy, Religious Bigotry, Medical Trauma, Death of a Parent, Classism, Sexual Content, Child Death
✨Themes: Gender Inequality, Supernatural, Secrets
✨You May Like This If You Enjoyed:
-The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)
-In Memorium (Alice Winn)
[To be clear, I think both of these books are better than what I’m reviewing but there are similar themes!]
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
From the summary: “Enchanting, beautiful, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth.”
Rather than enchanting and beautiful, I found this story to be bleak and depressing. There was suspense, but it was far from exquisite. I agree that The Miniaturist is a story of obsession, betrayal and retribution and appearance vs. truth, but rather than love, I felt the relationships in this story were more about dependence and, in some cases, lust. There were some true friendships, but these were not explored in depth.
But, although this was not at all what I was expecting, it was well-written historical fiction and kept me interested.
Rather than enchanting and beautiful, I found this story to be bleak and depressing. There was suspense, but it was far from exquisite. I agree that The Miniaturist is a story of obsession, betrayal and retribution and appearance vs. truth, but rather than love, I felt the relationships in this story were more about dependence and, in some cases, lust. There were some true friendships, but these were not explored in depth.
But, although this was not at all what I was expecting, it was well-written historical fiction and kept me interested.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
I don’t know about this. I wanted to like the book—and parts of it, I really did. That said, I found relating to the characters a bit challenging. There was something…cold? Or maybe off putting about them. There was also so much deep tragedy, for which I wasn’t completely prepared. I would have liked there to be some wins built in here and there. Overall this was not an awful book, just not quite able to hold my attention or interest as much as I’d hoped it would.
Graag gelezen ook al was het met momenten behoorlijk voorspelbaar. Vooral de setting heeft veel voor mij goed gemaakt. Ik heb zes maanden in Amsterdam gewoond en kon me zo de straten die werden genoemd voor ogen halen. En het poppenhuis natuurlijk waar ik meerdere keren gefascineerd naar heb gestaard in het Rijksmuseum (lang leve goedkope abonnementen).
Alleen jammer dat je als lezer nooit helemaal te weten komt hoe de miniaturist nu net te werk ging. Op dat gebied bleef ik toch wel even op mijn honger zitten.
Dit was al bij al een interessant debuut. Ik ben benieuwd naar het nieuwe boek van Jessie Burton dat net is verschenen en hoe ze zich verder gaat ontwikkelen als auteur.
Alleen jammer dat je als lezer nooit helemaal te weten komt hoe de miniaturist nu net te werk ging. Op dat gebied bleef ik toch wel even op mijn honger zitten.
Dit was al bij al een interessant debuut. Ik ben benieuwd naar het nieuwe boek van Jessie Burton dat net is verschenen en hoe ze zich verder gaat ontwikkelen als auteur.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
C’è qualcosa in questo romanzo che non mi convince. Eppure è ben scritto, storicamente accurato e i personaggi sono validi. Forse è proprio il mistero del miniaturista che non mi va a genio sia stato liquidato in questo modo frettoloso.