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lesbegays's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
a very slow start, but it picked up a lot in the middle. the end kind of ground to a halt for me, though. the miniaturist adds an element of magical realism throughout the novel, and at the end gets pulled back down into realism while while also not being really explained. i wish that the book had either left that very open-ended and magical or given more detail, as the middle ground really doesn’t work for me. however, this was overall an interesting glimpse at a period in history i know literally nothing about.
i never would have read this if not for it being a book club pick, but i don’t regret it.
MAJOR content warning for societal homophobia of the sort you would expect from a puritan nation in the 1600s.
i never would have read this if not for it being a book club pick, but i don’t regret it.
MAJOR content warning for societal homophobia of the sort you would expect from a puritan nation in the 1600s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Animal death, Outing, Pregnancy, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Confinement, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Slavery, and Colonisation
nickymikwoo's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Homophobia
nicnocs511's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, and Racism
esjackson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Outing, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Misogyny
lau3rie's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A bit of a difficult one to categorise, but very enjoyable nonetheless. A bit of an introspective character study, a bit of historical fiction, a bit of magical realism. Hard to ut my finger on exactly why, but the characters really live and breathe in this for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
odds's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
My only previous encounter with Burton's books was reading The Confession which, although enjoyable enough, was more an "I saw a signed book on whim" kind of buy for me and wasn't the sort of book I usually seek out. Perhaps it wasn't the right one to start with. However, I had heard good things about The Miniaturist. My copy of this is pre-owned and a little shabby, but in a way that I think gives it character. I like it when books look well-read.
This is an incredibly well-crafted story about secrets, with a perfect historical setting to clash with the ideas of personal freedom and choice - in Amsterdam - "Where the pendulum swings from God to a guilder". People must live as they're supposed to - observed, like clockwork, all playing a well-oiled part in society. Absences are noted, money powers everything. Entirely deliberate then, I imagine, (small spoiler) that "The Miniaturist" whose presence seems to throw so many lives into turmoil was apprenticed to a clockmaker. It's about appearance warring with desire and reality, the lies and secrets that even the most pious seeming people tell and keep. Mostly a cast of women, it also involves a great deal of frustration at their various places and overall powerlessness in society. You form an opinion of each person, then have it altered by their actions before the end.
It has a sense of mystery which propels a reader through the story. I guessed a couple of the twists, but there are always more to come. You think you've worked something out, but it's a distraction. It's fantastic to read a story that features the figure of a "prophet", when the characters and reader both are often unable to see the warnings until events have already passed.
In short, I thought it was exceptional!
This is an incredibly well-crafted story about secrets, with a perfect historical setting to clash with the ideas of personal freedom and choice - in Amsterdam - "Where the pendulum swings from God to a guilder". People must live as they're supposed to - observed, like clockwork, all playing a well-oiled part in society. Absences are noted, money powers everything. Entirely deliberate then, I imagine, (small spoiler) that "The Miniaturist" whose presence seems to throw so many lives into turmoil was apprenticed to a clockmaker. It's about appearance warring with desire and reality, the lies and secrets that even the most pious seeming people tell and keep. Mostly a cast of women, it also involves a great deal of frustration at their various places and overall powerlessness in society. You form an opinion of each person, then have it altered by their actions before the end.
It has a sense of mystery which propels a reader through the story. I guessed a couple of the twists, but there are always more to come. You think you've worked something out, but it's a distraction. It's fantastic to read a story that features the figure of a "prophet", when the characters and reader both are often unable to see the warnings until events have already passed.
In short, I thought it was exceptional!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Racism
charleyyyyy's review against another edition
I just did not care at all.
The racism and homophobia realy bothered me. It made me so uncomfortable, if I'd have known that this book would have contained such strong racism and homophobia, that is never combated, I wouldn't have picked it up.
I get that this fits with the time period and that it would have been unrealistic for a black man and a gay man to exist in this time and not face prejudice, but when writing things like that, the narrative should fight against this so that the book doesn't end up pushing these ideas.
For a white author to use the N word is gross and completely unnecessary.
It's clear that the author only uses Johannes' queerness as a shocking plot twist, and something to add to the tragedy of the main charicters life.
Also the word "sodomite" is used to describe his sexuality???
Speaking of the main charicter, i didn't like her at all. She was just so selfish and annoying and bland that I just can't get myself to care about her.
So I gave up reading it bc these are things I just can't get past. I know I won't enjoy reading it, so I won't.
The racism and homophobia realy bothered me. It made me so uncomfortable, if I'd have known that this book would have contained such strong racism and homophobia, that is never combated, I wouldn't have picked it up.
I get that this fits with the time period and that it would have been unrealistic for a black man and a gay man to exist in this time and not face prejudice, but when writing things like that, the narrative should fight against this so that the book doesn't end up pushing these ideas.
For a white author to use the N word is gross and completely unnecessary.
It's clear that the author only uses Johannes' queerness as a shocking plot twist, and something to add to the tragedy of the main charicters life.
Also the word "sodomite" is used to describe his sexuality???
Speaking of the main charicter, i didn't like her at all. She was just so selfish and annoying and bland that I just can't get myself to care about her.
So I gave up reading it bc these are things I just can't get past. I know I won't enjoy reading it, so I won't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Animal death, Homophobia, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Blood and Misogyny
bravereads's review against another edition
Just really not in the mood to continue a story far more depressing/upsetting than I was expecting, and way way less magical than I was expecting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
danikajoan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read this during my trip to Amsterdam and really enjoyed reading it within that setting (and gasped when I saw the cabinets at the Rijksmuseum that are so similar to the ones described in the book). I like this specific “young bride, mysterious husband (mean sister)” plot, reminds me of The Mercies and Phantom Thread and so many other stories I love. I felt like the writing here lacked a little bit of focus or direction but not enough to keep me from enjoying the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal death, Homophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Pregnancy, Violence, Racial slurs, Outing, Death, and Blood
nicolaparty's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Classism, Animal death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Sexism