Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

7 reviews

prettiestwhistles's review

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

---

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

jeaninelynn's review against another edition

reflective 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

I like how the plot of The Dutch House holds some surprises and suspense but for the most part feels simple. It feels like a story about mostly ordinary, although difficult, lives. This put an enjoyable emphasis on the richness of the characters and their interactions, and the unforced, genuine way Patchett writes them. I particularly liked how Patchett showed readers how the narrator’s perspective changed over time, while at the same time providing  readers more insight than the narrator into how he and the people around him tended to repeat the past. Even though Patchett showed flaws in every character, she still made it possible to feel warmth and sympathy toward most of them. The story realistically showed how our past, and particularly our childhood, shapes the present and future, even when, to someone on the outside of our lives, it may seem obvious that we should move on. Patchett also effectively captured the emotional complexity of being reunited with people who caused pain that shaped our lives, and, relatedly, how our perspective on the past constantly changes with the present. I like thinking about the meaning of home and the emotions that can be attached to a building, too, so the way that homes and buildings and emotions were constantly wound up together, often with emotions being displaced from people and relationships onto buildings, was intriguing to me. Overall, the book left me with a familiar lump in my throat from a feeling that comes up so often in real life — wishing so badly that I could change the past and that things could have turned out differently, but also seeing the importance of moving forward anyway and appreciating everyone who has given love along the way. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent

Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death

waybeyondblue's review

emotional mysterious 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: War

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

---

Content Warnings

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

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Epic family drama is not usually the sort of story I'm drawn to, but I do like a good sibling tale and I enjoy sampling the work of great writers who don't write in my preferred styles and genres. Tom Hanks narrating a sibling story by Ann Patchett seemed like the perfect opportunity. And it was! I read a few chapters throughout  — enough to know that Hanks's narration probably added a full star of enjoyment to my rating. It's not a fast read either way, but what felt too slow in my hands became a fascinating and skillful unfolding in his. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Animal death

sib_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Dementia, Grief, and Medical content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Cancer, and Cursing

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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